Rally for Karadzic Suggests Fissures Remain in Serbia

Associated Press

Rioters clashed with heavily armed police in downtown Belgrade late Tuesday.

Not enough they are celebrating a war criminal (of course, they don't see it that way): As many as 20,000 protesters chanted slogans tarring Serbia's pro-European president, Boris Tadic, as a fascist, as speakers accused the government of treason for agreeing to send Mr. Karadzic to the war-crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Treason? Not every one feels that way.

Liberals and many analysts in Serbia argue that Western observers have consistently gotten the country wrong in predicting a nationalist revival. They note that in every election since 2000, Serbs have chosen democrats over ultranationalists. Opinion surveys invariably show support for joining the EU at about 70%. Tuesday's protest turnout was relatively small compared with previous pro-democracy and pro-Kosovo demonstrations.