Smajić on Indictments Against Members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Killing Bosnia for the Second Time

(Patria) - It is tragic that an indictment has been filed against 13 members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, heroes of the defense of Goražde, while no one has been prosecuted to date for the four-year siege of Goražde, the killings, rapes, destruction and devastation of this town on the Drina, said in reaction Džemal Smajić, delegate (Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"We are witnessing the continuation of the persecution of the defenders of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From the media we read that there is a list of over three thousand members of the Army of BiH who are suspected of crimes by the so-called Documentation Center from the smaller BiH entity. Now we see that, among others, the celebrated commander of the Army of BiH, Ahmet Sejdić, who has already been prosecuted and acquitted of all charges, has been indicted again. And this is yet another proof of the harassment of the defenders of Bosnia and the continuation of political pressure on Bosniaks. What is the prosecutor's office doing when it comes to the siege of Goražde? Is it possible that no one is guilty for creating the collective Goražde camp with tens of thousands of inhabitants including children, the elderly, women, the wounded and the exhausted. The whole world witnessed the starvation of Goražde for four years and the heroic feeding of the population who brought food into the city over the hills from Grebak," emphasized Smajić.

He adds that he expects all those who claim to fight for citizens, especially defenders, to raise their voices against the public and deliberate persecution of those who defended Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Silence will be a sign that all lines of dignity have been betrayed and trampled. As I said before, it is clear that war crimes do not become statute-barred and that those who committed them should be held accountable, but failed indictments, cooked up in Belgrade, have so far shown in many cases that they are political, not legal, in nature. This is killing Bosnia for the second time," said Smajić.