Đakić's Comrades Outraged: Honest Commander Arrested While Killers of 496 Brčko Civilians Are Free

The Coordination of Veterans' Associations of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brčko District, has strongly reacted to the arrest of commander Mensur Đakić, whom the Prosecution accuses of committing a crime against Serbian prisoners in the village of Bukvik (Brčko municipality) in 1992, writes the BiH news agency Patria.

The Coordination of Veterans' Associations believes that the Prosecution's goal is to occupy judicial and prosecutorial capacities and prosecute alleged crimes from legitimate military actions, while not prosecuting the murders of 496 civilians who were taken from their homes in the city and killed with numerous rapes in the Luka, DTV Partizan, SUP camps, and others, as well as the destruction of bridges over the Sava River and Brčko mosques.

Đakić is under investigation by the BiH Prosecutor's Office and is suspected of acting contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions on the Protection of Civilian Persons and Prisoners of War during the Serbian aggression against BiH, as commander of the 1st Battalion of the HVO Brčko 108th Brigade.

He is accused that, in his capacity as commander of the 1st Battalion of the HVO Bosanska Posavina 108th Brigade, during an attack in the Bukvik village area on September 15, 1992, he failed to prevent a member of the 4th Company of the 1st Battalion from killing three captured wounded persons of Serbian nationality, Radić Živan, Purić Vlajko, and Veselinović Savo, and after the soldier he commanded committed the murders, he failed to punish the perpetrator, and that on September 14, 1992, as commander of the HVO 108th Brigade battalion, he personally killed a prisoner of war of Serbian nationality, Janko Maričić.

The Coordination of Veterans' Associations of the Army of BiH reacted sharply to these claims from the Prosecution, explaining that before the military operation in Bukvik began, civilian authorities located in G. Rahić persistently and on multiple occasions tried to negotiate with the then authorities in Bukvik on how to use the road communication to Tuzla, which would be used exclusively for the transport of severely wounded individuals and other humanitarian purposes.

Due to the refusal and irresponsibility of the Serbian representatives, such an agreement was not reached. The only option left, the Coordination reminds, was a military operation in the mentioned territory directed towards the military targets of the VRS, which involved 524 soldiers with long guns, 2 mortars, and a machine gun.

- In that operation, five members of our brigade were killed, two seriously wounded, and the deputy commander of the first battalion – the Coordination reminds.

- During the military operation against legitimate military targets, and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, which allow for collateral damage to civilians in an exchange of fire, there was a minimal number of casualties without the killing of civilians and captured soldiers or other actions contrary to the aforementioned conventions, primarily thanks to the organization and discipline of our soldiers and the professionalism of the command staff, as well as Commander Mensur Đakić personally.

During the operations, all persons found were evacuated from the combat zone and subsequently exchanged – explain Đakić's former comrades.

The Coordination expects the Court to make a decision to release Commander Mensur Đakić and allow him to defend himself from freedom, writes Patria.