Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Serbian Magazine Retracts Article on Trump

by VOA News

   The Serbian weekly magazine Nedeljnik has retracted an article
   reporting U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had
   apologized for the U.S. role in the 1999 bombing of the former
   Yugoslavia.

   Nedeljnik said in a statement it was either "caught in the middle of
   the presidential election campaign, or was duped by Vladimir Rajcic,"
   the man that was the paper's "contact" for an interview with Trump.

   "Nedeljnik has been trying to get an interview with Donald Trump for
   over a year now, ever since the businessman decided to run for the
   election," the statement said. "It turned out, as it often goes in the
   American politics, that we did not accomplish much via formal channels,
   but we did through personal contacts. Vladimir Rajcic, Serbian producer
   and actor living in the United States, who has repeatedly given us
   proof of his close relationships with people close to Mike Pence, the
   vice presidential candidate, offered to help Nedeljnik get this
   interview."

   The magazine published an article Thursday, which it retracted within
   hours, saying that Trump had answered five questions, one of which was
   about his view toward the Balkans, Serbia and the NATO bombing. In
   response to that, Trump allegedly said that "Serbs are very good
   people, the bombing was a big mistake, and the Clinton administration
   created chaos on the Balkans."

   The Trump campaign quickly challenged the story, calling it a "hoax."
   It was, however, picked up by U.S. media covering the presidential
   campaign.

   Even U.S. presidential contender Hillary Clinton's campaign sharply
   reacted to Trump's view of the bombing.

   "Mr. Trump never gave an interview to the Serbian weekly magazine
   Nedeljnik, as falsely reported by the discredited Newsweek, nor was
   such an interview conducted through our Indiana state director [Suzanne
   Ryder Jaworowski]," said Jason Miller, the Trump campaign's senior
   communications adviser.

   "Regarding the article about a media interview with a Serbian
   politician and Mr. Trump via my email, this is completely false. I have
   never served as a conduit to interview Mr. Trump for anyone,"
   Jaworowski said.

   Ethnic Serb militias in the former Yugoslavia under President Slobodan
   Milosevic were accused of carrying out widespread massacres of Muslims
   as part of a policy of ethnic cleansing.

   The U.S.-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia brought the Kosovo war to an
   end, when Bill Clinton, husband of Trump's Democratic rival, was
   president.

   NATO's bombing campaign killed hundreds of civilians but also ended
   ethnic cleansing campaign in parts of the former Yugoslavia.