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In the middle of the night of 31 March 2001, an arrest operation that shocked the world was staged in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, who once called for trouble, is now besieged in his own villa.
The police cut off the water and electricity in the villa in an attempt to force the recalcitrant political strongman into submission. However, no one expected that Milosevic's daughter Maria would make an astonishing move at this critical moment.
"Father, for the sake of your dignity, you might as well shoot yourself!" Maria's words are jaw-dropping, and they also reflect the distortion of human nature by the hatred and violence that have accumulated over a long period of time in this land of the Balkans.
So why was Milosevic arrested? What choice did Milosevic make in the end? Let's talk about this history – the end of a legendary president.
1. From the son of an Orthodox priest to a Yugoslav strongman
Milosevic's childhood was not ordinary. His father was a devout Orthodox priest, while his mother was a staunch communist fighter. This disparate family background sowed the seeds of a complicated political career for Milosevic.
Milosevic often witnessed friction between Serbia and Croatia, and these childhood memories planted in him an obsession that Serbia deserves a bright future.
His mother's faith was a double-edged sword, giving him both a firm political stance and a strong desire for power.
However, fate dealt a heavy blow to the young Milosevic. His father committed suicide when he was a teenager, and his mother took her own life in the 70s. These successive blows have built a high wall in Milosevic's heart, and also made his attitude towards life extremely cold.
"My parents chose to leave this world," Milosevic once said to those around me, "and it made me understand that in this cruel world, only by having power can I protect myself and those around me." "
With such a mentality, Milosevic threw himself into politics without hesitation.
In 1983, he officially entered politics, and just four years later he became the general secretary of the Serbian SACP. In 1990, he became the first President of the Republic of Serbia.
Milosevic's rise coincided with a turbulent period for the Yugoslav Federation. In 1980, Tito, the founder of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, died, and the multi-ethnic federal state suddenly fell into internal strife. Milosevic keenly seized the opportunity, skillfully exploiting nationalist sentiments and making his mark in politics.
2. Iron-fisted rule in the midst of war
As the Yugoslav Federation collapsed in 1991, Milosevic faced serious political challenges. Croatia and Slovenia declared independence, but Milosevic adhered to the idea of a "Greater Serbia" and refused to accept the division of the federation. This decision sparked a series of protracted armed conflicts.
The war in Croatia was the first to break out, and Milosevic's support for Serb militants in Croatia led to the spread of the fighting.
Vukovar became one of the most tragic battlefields of the war, and the city suffered great damage during a three-month-long siege. Milosevic's hardline stance has led to an escalation of the conflict, leading to the displacement of large numbers of civilians.
The Bosnian War that followed pushed the Balkans into the abyss. Milosevic continues to support Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a war that has taken a heavy toll.
The Srebrenica massacre became the darkest page of the conflict, in which thousands of Bosnian Muslim men were killed.
At home, Milosevic pursued a high-pressure policy to suppress dissent. He controlled the major media outlets, hyped nationalist ideas, and portrayed other ethnic groups as enemies of the Serbs. Many dissidents have been persecuted, some have been forced into exile, and some have been imprisoned. Milosevic's iron-fisted rule has plunged Serbia into a long period of political turmoil.
In 1995, under pressure from the international community, the Bosnian War ended with the signing of the Dayton Accords. However, the peace did not last long.
In 1998, the conflict in Kosovo escalated again. Milosevic's revocation of Kosovo's autonomous status sparked a strong revolt from the local Albanian community.
Faced with the situation in Kosovo, Milosevic once again took a tough approach, sending troops into the region to suppress the resistance.
This decision has led to massive civilian casualties and refugee flows. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians have been forced to flee their homes, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
3. Doom Maniac: The last struggle before being captured
The defeat in the Kosovo war became a turning point for the Milosevic regime. The people of the mainland are tired of the ongoing war and international sanctions, and the opposition is beginning to grow.
In September 2000, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia held a presidential election, and despite Milosevic's attempts to manipulate the results, the opposition candidate, Kostunica, won the victory.
Milosevic initially refused to concede defeat and insisted on a second round of voting. This decision sparked even larger protests. On 5 October, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flocked to Belgrade, seizing state television and the parliament building.
In the face of such large-scale popular protests, the police and army refused to heed Milosevic's orders to suppress. Eventually, he had to admit defeat and end his 13-year reign.
After losing power, Milosevic was not immediately arrested. He temporarily retreated into the background, but still tried to influence the political situation. However, the new government is under pressure from the international community to bring Milosevic to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for trial.
On 1 April 2001, the Government of Yugoslavia decided to arrest Milosevic. The operation began on the night of 30 March, when a large number of police and special police officers surrounded his villa in Belgrade. At first, Milosevic's supporters and the Villa Guard put up stubborn resistance, so that the first arrest operation ended in failure.
In order to force Milosevic to surrender, the police took extreme measures to cut off water and electricity. The situation inside the dacha was getting worse and worse, but Milosevic still refused to surrender. He appealed to his supporters by phone, asking them to protect him. However, only a handful of loyal supporters responded to his call.
After a long standoff and negotiations, Milosevic finally chose to surrender in the early hours of April 1. When he was escorted into a police car, the atmosphere was extremely tense. Some supporters tried to stop the police car from leaving, but ultimately failed.
4. Maria's Madness: Behind the Car Chase
Just when everyone thought the farce was coming to an end, Milosevic's daughter Maria was once again in the spotlight. She suddenly picked up a pistol and desperately caught up with the police car escorting her father.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! "Five gunshots in a row pierced the night sky over Belgrade. Maria opened fire wildly at the police car, but fortunately there were no casualties. This scene not only shocked everyone present, but also allowed the world to witness the crazy actions of a political family on the verge of collapse.
An eyewitness later described: "Mary's eyes were filled with despair and anger. She seems to want to vent her inner pain in this way, and she may also be making a last-ditch struggle, trying to prevent her father from being taken away. "
Maria's behavior is undoubtedly extreme and dangerous, but from a psychological point of view, it may be a stress response to living in a high-pressure political environment for a long time.
Her actions reflect both the fear of her father's imminent fate and the psychological distortions of the family's long life under the shadow of power and violence.
Eventually, Maria was given a light sentence for mental problems, but the incident undoubtedly cast a deeper shadow over the Milosevic family.
5. The Hague Trial: The End of an Era
After Milosevic's arrest, he was quickly sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands.
He faces more than 60 charges, the most serious of which include crimes against humanity and genocide. The Balkan strongman, who once called for the wind and rain, now has to defend his actions in an international tribunal.
Over the course of his five-year trial, Milosevic maintained his trademark stubbornness. He refused to recognize the legitimacy of the court and insisted on defending himself personally.
One observer recalled: "Milosevic spoke in courtroom as if he were still the same president." But in reality, he is more like a final defense of his political career. "
However, fate once again played a joke on Milosevic.
On March 11, 2006, just as the trial was about to end, Milosevic died suddenly in prison at the age of 64.
The cause of his death is still controversial, with some believing it to be a natural death and others suspecting something else.
Milosevic's sudden death brought a regrettable end to a trial that had lasted for years. Although the International Tribunal in The Hague ruled that he was not guilty of genocide nine years after his death, Milosevic's life was forever overshadowed by these accusations.
Epilogue: The tragedy of humanity in Game of Thrones
Milosevic's funeral was held in the small northern Serbian town of Pozarevac and was attended by more than 20,000 people. However, his family chose to be absent. This once powerful politician could only sleep in the courtyard of an old country house in the end.
Milosevic's life is, to some extent, a microcosm of the recent history of the Balkans. His rise, his reign and eventual fall are not just a tragedy for one person, but a reflection of the rise and fall of an entire region in the tide of nationalism.
In his pursuit of political ideals, Milosevic may have neglected the most basic human concerns, which eventually led to the disintegration of his family.
Today, when we look back on this period of history, we should learn from it, cherish peace, oppose violence, and jointly build a more harmonious and trusting world. What do you think differently about this?
Resources:
[1] Han Xianyang. Milosevic's death and Western humanitarianism[N].Guangming Daily,2006-03-15.
[2] Zhu Zhengfu. The Price and Reward of Justice: Feeling the Trial of Milosevic[J].Together in the Boat,2005-10(030-033).
[3] Beijing Evening News. South TV said that Milosevic's daughter was shot and resisted arrest and was given a light sentence[N].Sina News,2002-09-27.
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