Dr. Cerić: We demand that convicted war criminals have their rights restricted

Regarding the early release of convicted war criminal Dario Kordić and his triumphant reception in Zagreb, and the erection of a monument to indicted war criminal Ratko Mladić at Vrace in Sarajevo, the candidate for Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Mustafa Cerić, issued a press release, writes the Patria News Agency.

- The victims of genocide are once again shocked by the early release of war criminals. Dario Kordić was welcomed in Zagreb as a hero, while Ratko Mladić, who is on trial in The Hague for genocide, has had a "heroic" monument erected to him at Vrace in Sarajevo. This glorification and support for suspected and convicted war criminals is one of the greatest threats to peace, security, and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It inflicts deep pain on the souls of the victims, reminds and evokes the crime, instills dread and fear in all our hearts, and raises difficult questions for the survival and future of our people and state – the statement reads.

Dr. Cerić further states that peace, security, and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, coexistence, and the restoration and strengthening of trust among people and nations have no alternative. However, the return of convicted war criminals to local communities instills fear in the victims.

- Because according to the existing legislation of BiH, war criminals are not prohibited from acting publicly in political life at all levels of state authority. The possibility that the name of a convicted war criminal may appear on the list in the October elections this year disturbs us all, and therefore we demand that convicted war criminals have their rights restricted, following the example of democratic countries around the world. For this reason, I am asking the Office of the High Representative in BiH (OHR) to, in cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), make a decision to ban all convicted war criminals from running in the upcoming October elections – adds Dr. Cerić.

He further stated that he calls on the OHR to, in addition to the decision to ban convicted war criminals from running in the upcoming elections, urgently enact a law that prohibits and punishes the denial of proven and internationally legally established genocide in BiH, as well as a law for the punishment of individuals, groups/organizations that in any way celebrate and glorify indicted and convicted war criminals.

- Also, I ask the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to urgently revoke the discriminatory decision that war criminals are released after serving two-thirds of their sentence. Supporting, denying, and forgetting crimes are worse than the crime itself. The international community has invested too much in the post-war recovery of Bosnia and Herzegovina to allow anyone to question it. Therefore, I call on all political entities in our country to support the efforts of the international community to make decisions and laws that protect the victims of genocide, prevent the spread of fear of crime, and ensure the peace and stability of the country – states Dr. Cerić's press release.