Institutions of BiH Called to React Over Funding of Convicted War Criminals in Prijedor

(Patria) – The Institute for Research of Genocide Canada (IGK) has called on the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and international officials to react urgently following the decision of the Mayor of Prijedor, Slobodan Javor, to provide financial assistance to individuals convicted of war crimes.

According to IGK, while the victims' families are still searching for the remains of their loved ones and unsuccessfully seeking the erection of a monument to the murdered children of Prijedor, the city administration is using taxpayer money to finance the housing of fugitive Ilija Zorić and the medical treatment of the parents of Ljubiša Četić, both of whom have been finally convicted for the massacre in Zecovi.

In a letter sent to the Presidency of BiH, the Office of the High Representative, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, the Ministry of Justice of BiH, the Prime Minister of Canada, members of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board, and the State Investigation and Protection Agency, IGK warns that this is, as they state, an anti-civilizational and dehumanizing move by the city administration that could cause additional trauma to the surviving victims of crimes in Prijedor.

IGK emphasizes that local authorities in Prijedor have never publicly acknowledged the crimes committed during the war, nor have they, as they state, shown readiness for repentance and reconciliation with the victims' families.

They also state that, according to them, initiatives to commemorate the suffering of civilian victims are simultaneously banned in the city, while organizations that gather victims are publicly humiliated and marginalized.

IGK also reminds of the provisions of the Criminal Code of BiH, which stipulate a prison sentence of at least three years for individuals who grant privileges or financial assistance to persons convicted of war crimes, and they believe that those responsible for these decisions should be held criminally liable.

The organization states that they will continue their international campaign with the aim of ensuring that victims of crimes in Prijedor receive the right to dignified remembrance, including the erection of memorials and the marking of former camp sites as places of suffering.

They also announce the continuation of activities to permanently mark May 31st as the Day of White Ribbons, a symbol of remembrance of the discrimination and persecution of the non-Serb population in Prijedor during the war.