Coordination of Veterans' Associations: Equating defenders with those who committed aggression against BiH

(Patria) - The Coordination of Veterans' Associations of the Municipality of Ilidža and the Municipality of Hadžići strongly condemns and expresses public outrage regarding the manner of this morning's arrest of five members of the 4th Glorious Motorized Brigade Ilidža, namely: Senad Gadžo, Nezir Agan, Vahid Alađuz, Mujo Vatreš, and Suljo Hebib.

The Coordination of Veterans' Associations of the Municipality of Ilidža and the Municipality of Hadžići supports the impartial work of the judiciary and the Prosecutor's Office, but not the manner in which our comrades were apprehended this morning, as this approach has subjected the families of our comrades to additional stress.

"Members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) fully respect the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and our members against whom proceedings have been initiated were available to the judicial bodies in our country, so it is completely unnecessary for our institutions to treat them like the worst criminals.

We particularly express concern about the current policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which equates defenders with those who committed aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. As we see, the work of the Prosecutor's Office is aligned with the policy coming from the smaller entity. Our desire is for the truth to be established, and we are committed to prosecuting all war crimes, but not to equating the victim with the aggressor.

It is also absurd to arrest members of the ARBiH from the area of the Municipality of Ilidža, while no one has been held accountable for Kasindolska (43 killed civilians), Transporter (killing of 4 severely wounded individuals and a nurse accompanying the Una forces), Mjedenica bus (arrest, wounding, and killing of children without parental care), the murder of four children in a park in Hrasnica, the expulsion of thousands of people, as well as for the crimes committed in the Ilidža camps and other crimes committed in the Municipality of Ilidža by the so-called Army of the Republika Srpska," it was stated.

While criminals who committed crimes against the non-Serb population, it is further noted, walk freely around Ilidža and enjoy all the benefits our society offers, the victim has no right to speak and suffers additional trauma, while members of the ARBiH are arrested.

"It is evident that this way of working by the BiH Prosecutor's Office is changing historical facts and the character of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina," they add.