prijava
AHMIĆI, April 16 (FENA) - We will not give up until the last organizer and perpetrator of the crime in Ahmići is brought to justice, said today member of the Presidency of BiH Šefik Džaferović, as he took part in the marking of the 26th anniversary of the massacre in Ahmići where members of the Croat Defense Council (HVO) killed 116 Bosniak civilians.
"Only six people were prosecuted for the horrific crime in Ahmići, and there were many more, both on the part of those who planned the crime and those who committed it," Džaferović told the media.
He also emphasized that truth and justice are necessary for the restoration of trust among the people.
“As long as truth and justice on what was happening in BiH, from 1992 to 1995, is not uncovered completely, we will have a problem both in communication and in the restoration of trust. I know that there are different interpretations of what happened in BiH, but we know what the truth is – BiH suffered massive and violent aggression, mass crimes and genocide,” Džaferović pointed out.
As he said, the minimum which everyone should gather around in BiH is the truth, as established by The Hague Tribunal and the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
“It seems to me that the domestic judiciary is starting to deviate from what was determined by the international judiciary, thus the defense and liberation actions of the Army of the RBiH are now being presented as an alleged occupation of cities. The retrograde forces are doing their best to equal the aggressor and the victim, and once again we say to them, you will never succeed in that," Džaferović emphasized.
During the marking of the 26th anniversary of the massacre in Ahmići, numerous delegations laid flowers and wreaths at the memorial, followed by the religious part of the program, and the program "Ahmići: 48 hours of ashes and blood".
The Association "April 16" once again warned that the remains of 29 victims have never been found and that not all those responsible for the crime have been prosecuted.
“When it comes to finding the victims’ remains there has been no progress in recent years. We are constantly sending appeals, but we do not have any information,” said a member of the Association Hazrudin Bilić.
The Croat Defense Council, HVO, which was backed by Croatia, attacked Ahmići on April 16, 1993.
The HVO forces killed 116 civilians in the attack, mostly women and children. The youngest victim was three months old and the oldest was 82.
Some people were buried alive in their houses, while the local mosque was destroyed.
The Hague Tribunal sentenced former HVO general Tihomir Blaškić to nine years in prison for war crimes including ordering the attack on Ahmići.
The Tribunal also convicted Dario Kordić, former leader of the self-proclaimed wartime statelet that named itself the Croat Republic of Herceg-Bosna, of war crimes including the killings in Ahmići.
Meanwhile, the Bosnian state court also convicted HVO commander Paško Ljubičić of involvement in the Ahmići war crime.
(FENA) S. R.
