Serbian Chetnik Movement (1990)
Serbian Chetnik Movement Српски четнички покрет | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | SČP |
| President | Vojislav Šešelj |
| Founder | Vojislav Šešelj |
| Founded | 18 June 1990 |
| Dissolved |
|
| Merged into | Serbian Radical Party |
| Newspaper | Velika 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.