NB: If European values mean rewarding fugitives accused of war crimes, let Milanović keep them for himself

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Independent Bloc expresses its protest regarding the announcement that Croatian President Zoran Milanović will award four Guards Brigades of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) and the Special Police of Herceg-Bosna on the 25th anniversary of the "Operation Storm" on August 4th, for, as stated, "their role in the liberation of Croatia". Although Milanović announced a different policy and a break from parts of the criminal policy of the nineties, awarding people like Zlatan Mijo Jelić and other officials of the so-called Herceg-Bosna represents a continuation of trampling on the victims of the Joint Criminal Enterprise in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as determined by the final verdict of the Hague Tribunal.

Does Zoran Milanović know that Zlatan Mijo Jelić is accused of war crimes and is a fugitive in Croatia, asks the Independent Bloc! The former prisoner of Herceg-Bosna and member of the Independent Bloc in the FBiH Parliament, Amer Obradović, says:

"If European values mean rewarding fugitives accused of war crimes, then let Zoran Milanović keep them for himself. The fact that official Zagreb does not renounce its criminal legacy constantly burdens relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and holds us hostage to a bad past. With this move, Milanović aligns himself with officials from neighboring countries who do not respect our country. Or perhaps Milanović is confused, like Zlatan Mijo Jelić, who, while writing a congratulatory telegram to the then-Iranian coach Ćiro Blažević at the post office in Široki Brijeg, asked - Is it written Iran or Iraq? – and thus, instead of confronting the ghosts of the past and crimes, he is decorating them with awards. This is a scandalous and anti-civilizational decision, and I believe that the BiH Presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should react," the statement reads.