American historian Donia for NAP: HNS's denial of The Hague verdict should be rejected without consideration

(Patria) - The Croatian National Assembly's public condemnation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia's verdict in the case of the Croatian Six as "unfounded and unjust" is irresponsible, uninformed, and entirely without basis, says Professor Robert J. Donia, an American historian and expert witness for the ICTY Prosecutor's Office in The Hague, for the Patria agency, commenting on the Declaration of the Croatian National Assembly (HNS) which calls for the rejection of Hague verdicts for war crimes.

The HNS, chaired by Dragan Čović, who also heads the HDZ of Bosnia and Herzegovina, unanimously adopted a Declaration on Saturday that defines the guidelines for the actions of Croatian political representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina through seven points, including insisting on a new internal restructuring of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as rejecting the qualification of a joint criminal enterprise, as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia assessed the policy of former leaders of the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Community of Herceg Bosna towards BiH during the war in the nineties.

Such a declaration has caused sharp reactions, especially among victims of war conflicts.

Donia points out that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia prosecuted Serbs, Bosniaks, Albanians, and Macedonians, as well as Croats. The court proceedings we are talking about, says this historian, lasted 465 days in court, included the testimony of 320 witnesses, and concluded with a judgment from the Trial Chamber of 1,600 pages written by three experienced international judges. The verdict was subsequently confirmed by the decision of another five judges.

"While the members of the assembly analyze, criticize, and prepare a case to overturn the verdict and court transcripts, their actions must be taken as a crude polemical attempt at intimidation based on prejudice and unrealistic desires, rather than facts. All Bosnians and international actors should reject this without consideration, and the assembly should withdraw to avoid any further condemnation from global public opinion," says Professor Donia.