By MIKE O'CONNOR

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 14 - This morning as Ljubo Tadic got the news that his brother had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for war crimes, he proclaimed his brother's innocence.

Like many other Bosnian Serbs, he continued to express his support for the nationalists who led them during the war in Bosnia and who continue to say they are the only ones who can protect the Bosnian Serbs from an unjust vengeful world.

"The court and the prosecutors, know my brother is, innocent," he said. "They are persecuting him, for political reasons. Probably they are being paid by some Islamic countries, to do this."'

Standing behind one of dozens of stalls at a market where he sells cassettes, rubber balls and shampoo, Mr. Tadic did not fault the Bosnian Serb leaders for the state of the economy.

Almost all foreign aid has been denied to the Bosnian Serbs because their leaders have refused to honor aspects of the peace agreement, reducing many people to paupers.

"The world is against us and they will not help us no matter what we do," he said.

Despite Mr. Tadic's defiance, some -of those in the market and across the half of Bosnia controlled by Bosnian Serb authorities are turning their anger on the handful of what they consider to be corrupt politicians.

After a war in which Serbian nationalism was personified by this same group of politicians, a choice to oppose them now is difficult.

Dusan Tadic is viewed by many here as simply a small cog in a big machine that was trying to create a sanctuary for the Serbian people.

Biljana Plavsic, the president of the Serbian part of Bosnia, today reasserted her defense of the Bosnian Serb people by condemning Mr. Tadic's sentence. "It is something terrible, horrible," she said.

Even so, the sentence seems to give a stronger hand to the politicians whom Ms. Plavsic is opposing, represented by Mr. Krajisnik.

A European diplomat this evening described the viewpoint of those who support the hard-line leaders this way, "The wartime leaders tell the people that in fact the war is really still on. They say the world still wants to destroy you, and we are your only salvation. If we refuse to follow the peace agreement it is because we want to protect you. If you are poor it is because the world wants to starve you, not because we are incompetent or corrupt."