Friday, 27 January 2012BiH prosecutors are under fire for their decision this month to end the investigation into Ejup Ganic, Zaim Backovic, Jovan Divjak, and nine others suspected of involvement in Sarajevo’s Dobrovoljacka Street killings. Officials specified that there is insufficient evidence to justify prosecution in the case, now nearly two decades old.
The January 17th decision continues to spark outrage in some quarters, who accuse the BiH Prosecution Office of being too political. "Giving up on the investigation … represents giving up on justice [and] giving up on the process of reconciliation," Dragan Cavic, president of the opposition Democratic Party and former Republika Srpska president, told SETimes.
Seven Serb soldiers were killed and 14 were wounded along Dobrovoljacka Street on May 2nd 1992, when a Yugoslav National Army (JNA) convoy was attacked. The column, led by UN peacekeepers, was retreating, and was fired on in violation of an agreement allowing them safe passage. Bosnian Serb forces -- backed by JNA troops -- had been shelling Sarajevo since April, the beginning of what would be a 43-month siege of the city.
Nedeljko Mitrovic, president of RS's Organisation of Families of Captured, Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians, described the prosecution's decision as "a cowardly act that proves that the crimes against Serbs will never be prosecuted. No matter what happens, we will never give up seeking justice for those who died," Mitrovic told SETimes.
RS's Ministry of Interior Affairs announced an appeal against the decision, reiterating that according to its data, 43 JNA soldiers were killed that day. It says dozens more were wounded.
In contrast, people in the Federation of BiH generally welcome the prosecution's decision.
"These people are heroically defending our country. The true criminals need to be sought among those who were attacking Sarajevo: the Yugoslav People's Army and Serbian paramilitary units," Sarajevo resident Mirza Zepa, 34, told SETimes.
One suspect, Zaim Backovic, the assistant commander of the Territorial Defence (TD) at the beginning of the war, tells SETimes that the prosecution's decision means "the torture against me and my family will stop now. My wife has had four heart attacks and four times was clinically dead over these ten years. I know that I have done nothing wrong: I especially didn't commit any war crime."
But the prosecution announced that it will pursue another case associated with Dobrovoljacka, what happened immediately after the shootings. "During the investigation it was found that [some] of the captured soldiers of the JNA were taken to "FIS" premises (a mega-market at the time), Central Prison, and TD headquarters where they were mistreated and abused. The investigation relating to this matter shall continue," prosecutors pledged.
For RS President Milorad Dodik, the Dobrovoljacka Street decision is a game-changer. He says RS needs to cease all contact with state prosecutors, an institution he describes as a "monster", and he announced consultations between the government and the entity parliament about "further steps".
While BiH shelves part of the investigation, Serbia's Prosecutor's Office announced that it will continue its own investigation. Serbia issued arrest warrants for Ganic and 18 other senior officials in 2009. |
Friday, 27 January 2012
Setimes
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