Slobodan Milošević

I arrived, uh, late in 1997 when, um, and if you re- uh, remember, in May of 1996, '97, Tony Blair became the British prime minister, and the British, uh, government changed, and the British policy towards the region became, um, perhaps sharper is the word, I don't know.

But certainly, uh, Britain, uh, under Tony Blair wanted to intervene more, uh, saw-- uh, tended to see Yugoslavia, Serbia as a, uh, Slobodan Milošević, the then leader, as the enemy, as the bad guys.

Uh, whereas, of course, a lot of people in Serbia would say it was much more nuanced than that.

There were bad guys on all sides.

And you couldn't help but say some of the things that I've said and other people have said.

during their broadcast that makes you a human being and connects you with the terrible tragedy that has happened to all these people.

But these people, you watch them and it's like they're reporting that last Sunday there was a Girl Scout picnic in Central Park.

Yes, this is what I'm referring to.

Well, I would like to begin by pointing out that for someone growing up and coming to, uh, to age in a post-conflict setting, it is not odd at all to end up after school watching war crime trials being broadcasted in public television.

And, uh, I vividly recall when Slobodan Milošević was arrested and, uh, delivered to the ICTY's detention center in Den Haag, and this trial had such an impact because we were seeing a very powerful person in a position of power who was being held accountable for the atrocious crimes that have been committed during the nineteen-nineties, during the breakout of Yugoslavia.

Uh, and twen- more than twenty years later, I am still watching war crime trials being broadcasted on public television, and ironically, these are not about another conflict or another period or other actors, but they co- concern the same country, the same period, and the same conflict.

Uh, so the events on question concern the Kosovo, uh, War, which took place during ninety-eight, ninety-nine, uh, and ended up with a NATO intervention and the establishment of UN Transitional, uh, Administration.

So the attorneys, the prosecutors, the magistrates, the judges, all of these people, if they were Christian and they were English speaking, they were in that church.

And all of a sudden I had this idea, I was like, what would happen if while these people were here, usually three to five years on an assignment before they were repatriated back, what would happen if they discovered the gospel of Jesus Christ while here and then would go? And so that's what the pull of that, of being in a place where, you know, it was an amazing place because usually what would happen is if there was something in international news, you know, a pipeline in Russia or gas supplies in Germany were in the news or Milosevic is on trial, there is someone in our church who is deeply involved in that in a decision-making capacity.

Because certainly at the time, most of the people that would be sent there were people who were expert mid to late career folks, either for the State Department or for one of those tribunals or an embassy.

And so the opportunity to influence world leaders was unbelievable.

Give me

Milosevic or

give me death.

Yeah.

He's one of our global treasures.

I hope he never comes back to life.

Slobodan Milosevic? No.

Well, yes, but I meant Jimmy.

same night one?

Me? Oh, like a little slobbered on Milosevic.

Milosevic, who fucking, who was it? He's getting tried at the Hague and he told everyone to

fuck their mummers.

Yeah,

or something like that.

Where'd they get him? Slobodan Milosevic.

They got him.

He's not a transfer.