On September 22 Politika published a fictitious "Denial by Dr. Srdja Trifkovic [1]" -- an excerpt from The Lord Byron Foundation statement on the affair, [2] taken out of context -- in spite of Dr. Trifkovic's insistence, in a letter to the paper's editor (Sept. 20), that he wanted nothing published under his name in its pages. In the meantime we have received copies of dozens of letters sent to Politika about the case; none have been published. Two eloquent examples follow.
Dear Mr. Bujosevic,
I remember back in the year 2000 or so having a very pleasant evening and dinner with some writers from Politika at Vuk restaurant in Belgrade. Back then you were a serious publication, actually interested in the good of your country and so also of the world. Now I see that at a decade's distance things have changed dramatically. You have published an unbelievably ignorant and embarrassingly uniformed article. It is hard to imagine a writer in the English speaking world (and perhaps this is the problem: that the staff of Politika does not know English) who is more opposed to neoconservatism, not to mention genocide, than Dr Srdja Trifkovic. I have followed his writings, which are easily available to everyone, for years now, and the opinions he offers with great historical and moral acumen, are so far removed from the detestable opinions you ascribe to him, that it is hard for me to believe that your publication's attack on him was innocent or sincere. The type of "coverage" you offer in his case is what makes thoughtful Americans and Europeans wonder if there is any hope for serious political discourse in Serbia.
What you say is false in the extreme, and I hope that you apologize in print and point by point, or that Dr Trifkovic obtains justice through the courts for the lies you have published about him.
I hope you have managed to read this letter to the end or have had someone competent to translate it for you. You might do the same for Dr Trifkovic's writings, and so learn the truth, if indeed you have any interest in doing so. I am
Sincerely yours,
(the Very Reverend) Hugh Barbour, O.Praem., Ph.D.
Prior, St Michael's Catholic Abbey, Orange County, California USA
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Dear Mr. Bujosevic,
I am greatly saddened by Politika's publishing Dimitrije Vojnov's slander of Dr. Srdja Trifkovic, who is in truth one of the few voices of sanity regarding the West's policy towards militant Islam. Vojnov either ignorantly or maliciously groups Trifkovic with the American neo-conservatives, which is the absolute opposite of the truth. His is one of the few courageous voices in America speaking precisely FOR America's and NATO's disengagement from Muslim countries. I know this for a fact, because I have been reading his articles for years, I also read the neo-conservatives, and I know how much the neo-conservatives oppose him.
I am an Orthodox priest. My daughter is a nun in a monastery in Serbia. I have no interest whatsoever in seeing the escalation of violence in the Balkans - or anywhere else there is a "flashpoint" with Islam for that matter - but rather the opposite. Dr. Trifkovic is, simply put, one of my heroes for his principled and reasonable stand, and he should be regarded by all Serbs as such. Your newspaper must print a retraction of Vojnov's slander, or you will be guilty before God and the Serbian people. The courts of law may very well find you guilty also. The evidence is overwhelming, and I advise you to retract now and cut your losses.
Sincerely,
Rev. Steven B. Allen
St. Spyridon Church, St. Clair Shores, Michigan
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