COMMENTARY: Did Bradara mean Ilija Nakić when she said that potential war criminals sit in the FBiH Parliament?

By: Rasim Belko

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“I am not ashamed of my past, nothing is hidden. You cannot give up friends you make during your life. It is difficult in Bosnia and Herzegovina, if you strive for reconciliation, to speak only one truth and strive for only one truth. In the same hall sat people who are either potential convicts for war crimes or have committed war crimes, but it is unknown or they have never been convicted,” stated Lidija Bradara on March 10th on N1 television.

This was Bradara’s attempt to explain to the general public of Bosnia and Herzegovina what her words in the Parliament of the Federation of BiH meant, after being elected president of the entity, that Kordić is a former war criminal and that when someone serves their sentence, they cease to be a war criminal.

However, Bradara also said, and due to the public spotlight on Kordić, it did not resonate with the public, that among the parliamentarians, specifically the delegates of the House of Peoples of the FBiH, there are some who are either potential convicts or war criminals.

Analyzing the composition of the House of Peoples, we saw a very familiar name. Known in international circles investigating war crimes cases, so we wonder if Bradara meant her party colleague Ilija Nakić when she referred to “potential convicts or perpetrators of war crimes.”

Ilija Nakić has been a delegate in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament for two terms, elected by the HDZ BiH. He is a person who clearly enjoys great trust from Dragan Čović and the HDZ itself, which is why Bradara’s message surprises us.

Ilija Nakić has been a delegate in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament for two terms

On the other hand, Nakić is still awaiting prosecution, for which Croatian General Ljubo Ćesić Rojs also “accused” him. In an interview on November 15, 2008, for Jutarnji list, Rojs stated that Nakić, among others, had documentation indicating they committed war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, besides the accusations by the Croatian general, Nakić is under the weight of evidence from the Hague Tribunal, which has been handed over to the judicial bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This refers to the largely neglected “A” list, which is being dragged out and not prosecuted due to attempts to create a narrative of equal guilt among the three sides.

Therefore, neither Nakić nor those like him have been indicted, even though the Tribunal has largely closed. Croatian intelligence services once sent information to the Croatian government about indictments being prepared against Croatian generals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was apparently enough to halt those investigations and prosecutions through compliant individuals in the BiH judiciary.

Nakić was also on that list, but instead of being in the dock, he sits in a parliamentary seat and decides on the lives of citizens, collecting huge sums of money from their taxes.

Therefore, in good faith, we advise Bradara to report her colleague Nakić and take permissible steps to bring him to justice. If she is to be credible to what she says, she will do so, because who knows, maybe Nakić will one day be her friend, a convicted, pardon, former convicted war criminal! Who knows!