Associations React: Dario Kordić is a Shame for the Croatian People, We Demand a Square in Zagreb Be Named After the Victims of Ahmići

(Patria) - Four associations from BiH and Croatia have reacted to the scandalous video in which convicted war criminal Dario Kordić confirms that he would "do it all over again" and that it was worth every second of prison.

The Center for Women Victims of War – ROSA, Zagreb, the Center for Civic Courage, Zagreb, the Association for Social Research and Communication (UDIK), Sarajevo, and the Women's Network of Croatia have issued a public statement.

"We, activists from the undersigned civil society organizations, issue this statement to the public because we are appalled by the video in which war criminal Dario Kordić says he would repeat everything he did during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Namely, in the video, which was made at a gathering, Dario Kordić gave an almost threatening answer to the question, as he said, from a friend from northern Croatia: 'Was it worth the prison and the war?' 'I said, I would do it all over again! I wouldn't change a second. Every second was worth it,' Kordić replied.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague proved that the Republic of Croatia "directed the planning, coordination, and organization of the HVO, and that there was an international armed conflict between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina." The same court established and ruled that the crimes in Ahmići were crimes against humanity. Dario Kordić was sentenced to 25 years in prison in The Hague. He was released after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

We remind you that in Ahmići, the scene of the crimes that Dario Kordić would repeat, 116 people were killed. Of that number, 32 were women, and 11 were children under 18 years of age. Two local mosques were destroyed. The crime was committed in a cruel manner, the victims were burned. Entire families were among the murdered. The bodies of all the missing have not yet been found.

Dario Kordić was the president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the leading figures in the Bosnian Croat community from 1991 to 1995. Today, he is a Master of Catholic Theology. He obtained his diploma from the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb.

The rehabilitation of war criminals is unacceptable to us. We appeal to the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia that war criminals are not heroes. Condemning their deeds is our civilizational imperative. Not only as an expression of respect for past victims, but also for our relationship with the future. We call on the City of Zagreb to name a square after the victims of Ahmići. We have not yet received a response from the City Assembly – the Committee for Naming Settlements, Streets, and Squares, to whom we submitted the proposal in April this year. However, with the gestures of convicted war criminal Dario Kordić, our initiative becomes even more relevant.

Only with a square where young generations can be educated about our tragic past can Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia move forward together towards a brighter future," these associations stated.