Justice for victims: Associations united - stop manipulations in war crimes prosecution

(Patria) - After months of consultations, discussions, and harmonization of the final version of demands to the competent institutions regarding the prosecution of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, most veteran and victim associations have agreed on a final list of demands, which they signed today in Sarajevo.

Esad Delić Dela from the Alliance of Disabled War Veterans of FBiH stated that members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) are not free in the country they defended, nor can they travel to regional countries due to secret suspect lists.

"It is time for protests, and behind our coordination are 300,000 people; we will bring our children, wives, and grandchildren; it is time for the EU to reform the judiciary," said Delić.

The associations demand that the BiH Prosecutor's Office and the HJPC, in cooperation with the MICT and OSCE, **URGENTLY** undertake the following:

• Review the State Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes

• Immediately and without delay, commence the prosecution of cases from the A-list of the Hague Tribunal according to the Rules of the Road of the Rome Agreement

• Immediately and without delay, commence the prosecution of those who deny genocide, those who glorify war crimes, and those who glorify criminals, given that no one has been held accountable since the amendment of the BiH Criminal Code

• Immediately and without delay, commence the prosecution of crimes committed during the siege in UN protected zones

• Immediately and without delay, commence the prosecution of murders of children and civilians in UN protected zones and other locations in BiH, including Mostar, Vitez, and other locations

• Initiate and continue work on discovering the mortal remains of victims of aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to minimize the number of missing persons, while ensuring procedural protection measures, immunity, and material rewards for individuals providing relevant information

• Determine how many cases against generals and commanders of the ARBiH have been prosecuted by the BiH Prosecutor's Office after 2005, which were not previously submitted to the Hague Tribunal for assessment between 1996 and 2005.

We believe that cases not previously submitted to the Hague Tribunal represent political manipulation and an attempt to equate the parties through falsified indictments. In this way, members of the ARBiH, political and police leadership are being prosecuted by the BiH Prosecutor's Office. In addition to prosecuting cases rejected by the Hague Tribunal, cases that were never submitted to that court are also being prosecuted, thereby abusing the BiH Prosecutor's Office to nullify the truth established in The Hague.

• Furthermore, we demand the immediate and unhindered cessation of the continuous persecution of individuals who have been repeatedly acquitted before domestic and international judiciaries.

They demand that the competent institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Presidency of BiH, the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, especially the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs –:

• Work on protecting and affirming the legacy of the ICTY/MICT and provide the signatories of the initiative with projects and plans for the preservation and protection of this legacy as soon as possible

• Initiate judicial reform to prevent the falsification of history and the equating of the so-called parties to the conflict, and publicly advocate for the application of the legacy of the ICTY/MICT, which established the aggression against RBiH and two joint criminal enterprises against BiH. They should inform us about this within three months

• Representatives in state institutions and lower administrative units, judicial, police, and other institutions, agencies, and bodies, act professionally and responsibly towards the issue of war crimes and genocide. We are completing lists of responsible individuals whom we will call out and publicly name, and ultimately shame if they do not fulfill their historical task

• We demand that the aforementioned institutions initiate procedures in which the judicial authorities officially respond as to why the legacy of the Hague Tribunal, which established an international conflict until the Dayton Peace Agreement, the aggression of Serbia and Croatia, and two joint criminal enterprises from those countries, is not being used. We also demand an explanation as to why cases from the A-list of the Rules of the Road are not being prosecuted, as no indictments are being filed against the highest levels of the so-called HZHB and RS

• In cooperation with the ICTY/MICT, investigate why cases rejected by the Hague Prosecutor's Office are being re-prosecuted by the BiH Prosecutor's Office, as is the case with the "Dobrovoljačka" case

• That the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs support Igor Šoltes' amendment, according to which Serbia cannot become an EU member until it recognizes the judgments of the Hague Tribunal, and inform the EU headquarters in Brussels about this

"If we do not receive the requested answers and if our demands are not met within three months, we will initiate the procedure of suspending cooperation with the BiH judiciary and submit requests for the activation of the MICT, i.e., the completion of cases in BiH under the auspices of the MICT, which have been hidden and not prosecuted for decades," they announced.

"We are completing lists of responsible individuals whom we will call out and publicly name, and ultimately shame if they do not fulfill their historical task," they conclude with the message:

LET JUSTICE PREVAIL, EVEN IF THE WORLD PERISHES, announced the signatories:

- ALLIANCE OF DEMOBILIZED SOLDIERS OF FBiH ALLIANCE OF FAMILIES OF MARTYRS AND FALLEN SOLDIERS OF FBiH
- ALLIANCE OF DISABLED WAR VETERANS OF FBiH ALLIANCE OF RECIPIENTS OF THE HIGHEST WAR HONORS OF FBiH
- ASSOCIATION OF GENERALS OF FBiH JOB "UNION OF VETERANS" BiH
- ALLIANCE OF PARAPLEGICS OF FBiH MOVEMENT “MOTHERS OF THE ENCLAVES OF SREBRENICA AND ŽEPA”
- ASSOCIATION OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES OF GENOCIDE ASSOCIATION OF PARENTS OF MURDERED CHILDREN OF BESIEGED SARAJEVO 92-95
- ALLIANCE OF POW CAMPS DETAINEES IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA UNION OF CIVILIAN VICTIMS OF WAR
- ALLIANCE OF FAMILIES OF THE MISSING OF BiH ASSOCIATION “WOMEN OF PODRINJE”
- GUARDIANS OF BOSNIA