Key Serbian Nationalist Leader Resigns

Belgrade _ Tomislav Nikolic, a key leader of Serbia's nationalist Radical Party has resigned over an inter-party disagreement on a crucial EU deal, his party says in a statement.

The statement said Nikolic resigned late on Friday both as the chief parliamentary deputy of the Serbian Radical Party, and as a deputy head of the party led by Vojislav Seselj, who is currently facing a war crimes trial before The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, at The Hague.

Media say his resignation came after he was outvoted by party colleagues who followed Seselj's order from his prison cell at The Hague not to vote for the ratification of the Stabiliasation and Association Agreement with the European Union, a deal which seen as the first step towards the country’s full membership of the bloc.

The move boosted media speculation that the largest opposition party in Serbia was on the edge of splitting to two factions, one loyal to Seselj and the other supposedly following Nikolic, who has been trying to modernise the party.

Earlier on Friday, Serbia’s pro-European parties and the Radicals agreed to tag a statement confirming Kosovo as a part of Serbia, to the Stabiliasation and Association Agreement. Read more: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/12901/

The statement would become an accompanying document to the agreement, which Belgrade’s pro-European leaders signed with Brussels on April 29.

The document, saying Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia, cannot become a part of the agreement since it is not possible to change the original text without consent from Brussels.

However, Belgrade media reported that only hours after Nikolic said his party would vote in favour of the ratification of the EU agreement, Seselj called other leaders and ordered a change in position.

Dragan Todorovic, also Radical’s deputy leader, said the change had nothing to do with a rift among their ranks but claimed that media got “Nikolic’s words wrong,” adding Nikolic only said the Radicals would vote for the statement, not the agreement as a whole.

There was no comment from the Radicals loyal to Seselj on Nikolic’s resignation, but media speculate that his move aims at taking over the party.

Nikolic has been the local head of the Radicals since 2003 when Seselj voluntarily surrendered to The Hague Tribunal.

Nikolic lost twice in presidential races to the pro-European candidate Boris Tadic, in 2004 and 2008, while his party, though emerging as the strongest single group in several elections, never managed to make form a coalition and come to power.

The only time the Radicals participated in a ruling coalition was during the last days of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, in 1999.