The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, assessed in an interview for “Dnevni avaz” that there was definitely no civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
“It was an international armed conflict. There are many historical reasons and arguments that will be used to explain, and justify, the behavior of each side. However, from the verdict we have made, it is quite clear that there was an international conflict, “ Brammertz said.
Summing up the work of the Tribunal, which was officially closed on Thursday, he said that it had been fulfilled more than anyone expected when it was created.
“Did we meet the expectations of all victims? No! Although we like to point out that 161 criminals were accused, and that we do not have fugitives… that we have done more than all international tribunals together… But when I was recently in Sarajevo, I understood that at this moment there are 3.000 indictment processes. So, considering everything that still needs to be done, we can easily agree that the Tribunal has done only part of the work, “ Brammertz emphasized.
He said that besides 3.000 cases in BiH, there are still hundreds of them in Serbia and Croatia.
“They all need to be prosecuted. Over the past few years, we have seen a slowdown or even a lack of cooperation between the prosecution offices in Sarajevo, Belgrade and Zagreb. This has to be solved urgently. For many crimes in BiH, perpetrators are free in Croatia or Serbia, whose citizenship they have. Given that these states do not extradite their citizens, the only way for justice to be fulfilled is to judge them either in Croatia or Serbia, “ said Brammertz for ‘Dnevni Avaz’, among other things.
(Source: Fokus.ba)
