prijava
AHMIĆI, April 16 (FENA) - The commemoration on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the murder of 116 Bosniak civilians was held today in Ahmići.
A member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović, who was also a patron of this memorial event, said in his address to the audience that today we remember with sadness and deep respect the victims of the crime against humanity committed against civilians in Ahmići.
He pointed out that we have no right to forget 116 innocent Bosniak victims, "killed in a bloody and criminal campaign by members of the Croat Defense Council". He reminded that among the innocent victims were 32 women, 11 children under the age of 18, and the youngest victim was a three-month-old baby.
"Unfortunately, not all criminals have been convicted for the terrible crime in Ahmići. The International Tribunal for War Crimes Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia ruled that the murders in Ahmići were a crime against humanity. One of the organizers and commanders of this crime, the legally convicted war criminal Dario Kordić, was sentenced to 25 years in prison," said Bećirović.
He said that the crime against humanity has no statute of limitations.
According to him, final judgments of the highest international courts cannot be deleted or annulled. He emphasized that the world's highest courts have determined that aggression was committed against Bosnia and Herzegovina and that genocide was committed against Bosniaks.
"Unfortunately, the threat of repeating crimes and genocide has not been eliminated. Politicians who openly threaten Bosnia and Herzegovina are still on the scene. We have no right to ignore or underestimate these threats," Bećirović pointed out.
He said that British soldiers in UNPROFOR played an important role in uncovering the truth about the Ahmići, and one of the first people to arrive at the scene of the terrible crime was Colonel Bob Stewart.
"The contribution of this honest British officer was important in presenting the barbarity and brutality of this crime against humanity to the international public. Even today, Colonel Stewart is one of BiH's most sincere friends. In the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, he also advocates a policy of support for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina," Bećirović pointed out.
He stated that "it is our permanent obligation to speak the truth and seek justice".
"Likewise, it is our duty to fight for every criminal to be brought to justice. We have no right to give up on conveying and preserving the truth about the suffering of Bosniaks in Ahmići. We will never stop seeking punishment for those who have committed crimes. At the same time, we want to build a common life with all well-intentioned people who fight for peace and progress," said Bećirović.
He emphasized that the defenders of Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be equated with those who attacked our country.
"We were not the same in the 1990s, and we are not the same today. Because we are not the same, we have the human, moral and civilizational strength to condemn every crime. We owe every innocent victim full respect. We are obliged to demand the most severe punishment for every criminal. Evil must not be forgotten or underestimated," concluded Bećirović.
The president of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts, Graciela Gatti Santana, said that crimes committed three decades ago were tried in a large number of cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and that it was unequivocally established that the attacks on Ahmići and other places in the Lašva valley were part of a wider military campaign, the intention of which was to ethnically cleanse the region of its Bosniak Muslim population.
"In just a few hours, the soldiers, Bosnian Croats, killed more than 100 inhabitants of this village, including women and children, destroyed more than 160 houses and two mosques and killed livestock. As determined by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the aim of these acts was to spread terror in order to force the Bosniak Muslim population to leave and prevent them from ever returning," Santana stated.
Santata underlined that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia concluded that these acts constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The youngest victim of the crimes in Ahmići was a three-month-old baby. The ICTY ruled that the murders in Ahmići were crimes against humanity.
One of the HVO commanders, Dario Kordić, was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Zoran, Mirjan and Vlatko Kupreškić were sentenced to six and ten years in prison for their participation in the crime but were acquitted by a later verdict in 2001.
Kordić, who was serving a 25-year sentence in an Austrian prison for crimes in central Bosnia, including crimes in Ahmići, was released after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
The Hague Tribunal also sentenced Miroslav Bralo, a former member of the HVO special unit “Jokers”, to 20 years in prison.
Paško Ljubičić was sentenced to eight years in prison, and after serving two-thirds of the sentence he was released.
Tihomir Blaškić was sentenced to nine years in prison and was released after serving eight years and four months of prison.
(FENA) S. R.
