Bob Stewart: Even today, the soldiers who discovered the crime are with me; I express admiration and respect for the people of Ahmići

(Patria) - Retired UN Colonel Bob Stewart also addressed the commemoration for 116 murdered victims in Ahmići. He was stationed in Vitez 32 years ago and, as he says, to his great regret, he and his soldiers discovered the massacre in Ahmići on April 22.

"I can only begin by saying how truly sorry we Britons are for what happened. That is obvious because Ambassador Julian Reilly is here with us. Even 32 years ago, we cared deeply about the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am here today with my daughter and friends, but we are not important today. What is important are the 13 British soldiers who were there that day, and they are with us today at the commemoration.

Some of them were here at the very beginning of the events and tried to help by transporting the wounded to hospitals. Of course, I gave the order to search for bodies. In the film, you saw parts of the evidence for that. It left a strong impression on them. Some of them developed PTSD after these events. We could not believe that people could do something like this to other people. It was a great shock for us," he said in his address.

He recalled those fateful April days of 1993.

"I came on April 22 because Bosnian soldiers told me that a massacre of women and men was taking place in Ahmići. I said it was impossible for that to be happening, and that no one wearing a uniform would do such a thing, and I said if I go and see, and come back and say it didn't happen, will you believe me and stop the action. I came here and brought my best translator, Dobrila Kalaba. She was a Serb. She was 29 years old and was about to marry my other translator, whose name was Edin and who was a Muslim. She translated for me, and it was shown in all the media. As a consequence, I believe she was killed six weeks later by a Croatian sniper," he said.

Stewart thanked the imam of Ahmići and the Reis-ul-ulema, who is a great friend, and who made it possible to erect a memorial plaque in the courtyard of the mosque for this woman, a Serb.

"That, I am sure in itself, should be a sign that is the path of this country. I was a politician for 14 years, and we know what opinion people have of them, but not all are bad. As a politician, I was very concerned about the number of young people leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina. This country needs young people for its future. I will return to what I started with. Great Britain is doing everything in its power to help young people stay. I express admiration and respect for the people of Ahmići who stayed here, especially the mothers. When I first came here in '92, I was surprised at how similar we are. We are all Europeans and we must all work together for the future of this truly beautiful country," Stewart said.