Komšić in Stupni Do: Justice would be for those who committed the crime to be held accountable, because words cannot alleviate your suffering

(Patria) - Chairman of the BiH Presidency Željko Komšić, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the war crime against Bosniaks in Stupni Do and Vareš, laid flowers at the memorial fountain and visited the victims' graves in Stupni Do.

Addressing the attendees, he said that it is not the occasion to talk much in Stupni Do, or Srebrenica.

„You cannot say anything new to those who suffer for the innocently killed. There are no words after 30 years that can alleviate suffering. Everything is known about Stupni Do, that people were killed simply because they were Bosniaks and Muslims. It is known that those who did it had some goal. There is no goal for which you can inflict evil on an innocent, helpless child. We talk a lot about justice. What is justice? From our point of view, justice would be for those who committed this to be held accountable before the law. Justice would be for some of them to repent, justice would be for someone, if not those who committed it, to say: 'Excuse me people, that was evil', Komšić said.

He added that a person easily succumbs to hatred, but it takes strength to resist it and to protect children's hearts from hatred.

30 years ago, members of the special units "Maturice" and "Apostoli" - HVO Brigade "Josip Jelačić" committed war crimes against the Bosniak population. On this day in 1993, they killed 38 civilians in Stupni Do, including 17 women and five children, and then burned down the entire village.

58 houses and the local mosque were burned to the ground. Among the killed was a child only two years old.

The crimes in Stupni Do, committed as part of a joint criminal enterprise, were also mentioned in the verdict of the Hague Tribunal against six political and military leaders of the so-called Herceg-Bosna, who were finally sentenced to a total of 111 years in prison.

Numerous delegations attended the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the crime in Stupni Do, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH Elmedin Konaković.