SARAJEVO, May 12 (Hina) - The president of the Hague war crimes tribunal said in Sarajevo on Saturday the establishment of a commission for truth and reconciliation in Bosnia would be an important addition to the tribunal's work as it
would help paint an objective picture of what happened over the past ten years.
SARAJEVO, May 12 (Hina) - The president of the Hague war crimes
tribunal said in Sarajevo on Saturday the establishment of a
commission for truth and reconciliation in Bosnia would be an
important addition to the tribunal's work as it would help paint an
objective picture of what happened over the past ten years.#L#
Judge Claude Jorda participated in a conference focusing on the
establishment of such a commission, which should act as a similar
body in the South African Republic.
He later told reporters such notions would not change the
tribunal's work but would help it be more efficient. The
commission's activity will include the local judiciary.
The commission will not investigate war crimes, which remains the
jurisdiction of the Hague tribunal prosecutor, Jorda said. The
commission will collect testimonies and facts about recent Bosnian
events. The Hague tribunal will continue prosecuting suspects in
the most heinous war crimes, while the local judiciary will
prosecute all others, he explained.
According to Jorda, there will be three levels for the
establishment of what happened during the 1990s war. The
commission's primary task will be to work on restoring unity in
Bosnia, he said.
A bill on the establishment of the commission will be drafted in the
next six weeks, said Jakob Finci, the president of Truth and
Reconciliation, an association of citizens which has been working
on the establishment of the commission for more than two years.
The commission should comprise seven eminent Bosnian figures who
will be appointed by the United Nations secretary-general and start
working in 2002.
Over the next 18 months, the commission will collect testimonies
from 5,000-7,000 people who were the victims of the Bosnian
conflict, as well as from those responsible for inflicting
suffering.
The testimonies will be carefully analysed. A set of measures will
be submitted to the state parliament to help restore inter-ethnic
trust.
"We expect the commission's work will at least help historians
write one uniform history of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. That
history should replace the three existing national histories which
continue to teach children that neighbours of different
nationality are actually their enemies," said Finci.
Bosnian Serb senior official failed to attend the Sarajevo
conference despite having been invited. Judge Jorda said this
should not be a source of disappointment as these were the first,
most difficult steps in the restoration of trust and
reconciliation.
(hina) ha