Veterans and Victims' Associations Seek Justice: Joint Signing of Demands to Domestic and International Institutions Tomorrow

(Patria) - After months of consultations, discussions, and harmonization of the final version of demands addressed to competent institutions regarding the prosecution of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, most veterans' associations and victims' associations have agreed on a final list of demands, which they will jointly sign on January 15, 2025, announced the Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide.

This association invites the media to attend the joint signing of the demands, which will take place on January 15, 2025, at 12:00 PM, at Vilsonovo šetalište Street no. 10 (T-Panorama building, entrance next to the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, 1st floor, room no. 111).

Representatives of the following associations will also address the press conference:
SAVEZ DEMOBILISANIH BORACA F BiH
SAVEZ PORODICA ŠEHIDA I POGINULIH BORACA F BiH
SAVEZ RATNIH VOJNIH INVALIDA F BiH
SAVEZ DOBITNIKA NAJVEĆIH RATNIH PRIZNANJA F BiH
UDRUŽENJE GENERALA F BiH
JOB „UNIJA VETRENA“ BiH
SAVEZ PARAPLEGIČARA F BiH
POKRET “ MAJKE ENKLAVA SREBRENICA I ŽEPA”
UDRUŽENJE ŽRTAVA I SVJEDOKA GENOCIDA
UDRUŽENJE RODITELJA UBIJENE DJECE OPKOLJENOG SARAJEVA 92-95
SAVEZ LOGORAŠA U BOSNI i HERCEGOVINI
UNIJA CIVILNIH ŽRTAVA RATA F BiH
SAVEZ PORODICA NESTALIH BiH
UDRUŽENJE „ŽENA PODRINJA“
ČUVARI BOSNE
UDRUŽENJE ŽENA ŽRTVA RATA FOČA 92-95

Below are the demands of the aforementioned associations:

THE PATH OF JUSTICE AND TRUTH

We, the undersigned, DEMAND from the Prosecutor's Office of BiH and the HJPC, in cooperation with the MICT and the OSCE, to URGENTLY carry out:

• A revision of the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes.
• Immediately and without delay, proceed with the prosecution of cases from the A-list of the Hague Tribunal according to the Road Map rules of the Rome Agreement.
• Immediately and without delay, proceed with the prosecution of genocide deniers, those who glorify war crimes and glorify criminals, given that no one has been held accountable since the amendment of the Criminal Code of BiH.
• Immediately and without delay, proceed with the prosecution of crimes committed during the siege in UN-protected zones.
• Immediately and without delay, proceed with the prosecution of the killings of children and civilians in UN-protected zones and other places in BiH, including Mostar, Vitez, and other locations.
• Initiate and continue work on discovering the remains of victims of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to reduce the number of missing persons to a minimum, while ensuring procedural protection measures, immunity, and material rewards for persons who provide relevant information.
• Determine how many cases have been prosecuted after 2005 against generals and commanders of the ARBiH by the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, which were not previously, in the period from 1996 to 2005, submitted to the Hague Tribunal for assessment. We consider that cases not previously submitted to the Hague Tribunal represent political manipulation and an attempt to equalize the sides through falsified indictments. In this way, members of the ARBiH, political and police leadership are being persecuted by the Prosecutor's Office of BiH. In addition to prosecuting cases dismissed by the Hague Tribunal, cases that were never submitted to that court are also being prosecuted, thereby abusing the Prosecutor's Office of BiH to nullify the truth established in The Hague.
• Also, we demand that the continuous persecution of persons who have been acquitted multiple times before domestic and international judiciaries be stopped immediately and without delay.

We, the undersigned, also demand from the competent institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Presidency of BiH, the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, especially the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – to:

• Work on the protection and affirmation of the legacy of the ICTY/MICT and provide the signatories of the initiative with projects and plans for the preservation and protection of this legacy as soon as possible.
• Initiate judicial reform to prevent the falsification of history and the equalization of the so-called sides in the conflict, and publicly advocate for the application of the legacy of the ICTY/MICT, which established the aggression against the RBiH and two joint criminal enterprises against BiH. They should inform us about this within three months.
• Representatives in state institutions and lower administrative units, judicial, police, and other institutions, agencies, and bodies, act professionally and responsibly regarding the issue of war crimes and genocide. We are compiling lists of those responsible whom we will call out and publicly summon, and ultimately put on a pillory if they do not respond to the historical task.
• We demand from the mentioned institutions to initiate procedures in which the judicial authority would officially answer why the legacy of the Hague Tribunal is not being used, which established the international conflict until the Dayton Peace Agreement, the aggression of Serbia and Croatia, and two joint criminal enterprises from those states. Also, we demand an explanation why cases from the A-list of the Road Map are not being prosecuted, because indictments are not being raised against the highest levels of the so-called HZHB and RS.
• In cooperation with the ICTY/MICT, investigate why cases dismissed by the Hague Prosecutor's Office are being re-prosecuted in the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, as is the case with the "Dobrovoljačka" case.
• That the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH invoke the Igor Šoltes amendment, according to which Serbia cannot become an EU member until it recognizes the judgments of the Hague Tribunal, and inform the EU headquarters in Brussels about this.

"If we do not receive the requested answers and if our demands are not accepted within three months, we will begin the procedure of ending cooperation with the judiciary of BiH and initiate requests for the activation of the MICT, i.e., the completion of cases in BiH under the auspices of the MICT, which have been hidden and not prosecuted for decades. We are compiling lists of those responsible whom we will call out and publicly summon, and ultimately put on a pillory if they do not respond to the historical task. LET THERE BE JUSTICE, EVEN IF THE WORLD PERISHES," the invitation states.