Ćorović: There is no true healing of society without adequately confronting painful issues such as war crimes

Bosniak Party (BS) MP and Vice President Jasmin Ćorović said that he was pleased with the announcement by the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office (VDT) that 18 war crimes cases had been opened in the first six months of this year, six of which were completed, and that they were dedicated to processing war crimes and strengthening judicial cooperation in the region.

"Since its establishment, the Bosniak Party has called on the prosecution and judiciary, as well as all other relevant institutions and social factors, to put the issue of war crimes in the focus of attention, to shed light on all cases of war crimes, and to bring the direct perpetrators and those who ordered them to justice," he said in a press release.

The BS MP assessed that there is no true healing of society without adequate institutional and social confrontation with painful issues such as the issue of war crimes.

"But I also believe that there is a certain will among responsible individuals in the SDT to resolve these issues in a proper manner and I would like to publicly, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Bosniak Party, encourage everyone to act in that direction. We recognize that recently there have been signs of a more determined approach to the issue of war crimes, as evidenced by today's statement following the recent first-instance conviction of Slobodan Peković. This was not the case in the previous period, which we clearly pointed out in public and voted negatively on the reports of the prosecutorial and judicial bodies," said Ćorović.

He said that his party hopes that this practice will change and therefore gives full support to the Special State Prosecutor's Office to persist in its intention to prosecute war crimes and bring war criminals to justice, both direct perpetrators and those who ordered them.

"We will closely monitor the work and results of the prosecution on this issue, praising every activity, but I emphasize that the results are not in the number of proceedings initiated, but in the number of convictions in those proceedings," said BS Vice President and MP Jasmin Ćorović.