Serbian Chetnik Movement (1990)

Serbian Chetnik Movement
Српски четнички покрет
AbbreviationSČP
PresidentVojislav Šešelj
FounderVojislav Šešelj
Founded18 June 1990 (1990-06-18)
Dissolved
  • 23 February 1991 (1991-02-23) (as a party)
  • 28 April 1994 (1994-04-28) (as paramilitary unit)
Merged intoSerbian Radical Party
NewspaperVelika Srbija
Ideology

Serbian Chetnik Movement (Serbian: Српски четнички покрет, Srpski četnički pokret, abbr. SČP) was an unregistered political party in Serbia and later a paramilitary force in the Yugoslav Wars. The party was founded and led by Vojislav Šešelj, a former lecturer at the University of Sarajevo and member of Serbian Renewal Movement. Due to its open connections with World War II-era Chetniks, the party was not permitted to be registered and was barred from participating in the 1990 Serbian general election. Šešelj instead participated in the presidential election as an independent candidate, placing fifth. The party's ideology centered on ultranationalism and promotion of Greater Serbia.

After the elections, SČP merged with the People's Radical Party to create the Serbian Radical Party, with Šešelj as its president. During the Yugoslav Wars, SRS appropriated SČP as its paramilitary unit. It was active in the Eastern Slavonia front and Bosnian War, where it had committed crimes against Croat and Muslim civilians. At times, Šešelj both supported and condemned SČP, although the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia concluded that Šešelj exercised authority over them. In April 1994, SRS announced the dissolution of SČP.