SARAJEVO, Aug 17 (Hina) - Alija Izetbegovic, the president of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and a former chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina's collective Presidency does not believe that there is a possibility that the UN war
crimes tribunal at The Hague (ICTY) will indict him or war-time members of the Bosnian Presidency for crimes committed by the Army of Bosnia-Herzegovina troops.
SARAJEVO, Aug 17 (Hina) - Alija Izetbegovic, the president of the
Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and a former chairman of the
Bosnia-Herzegovina's collective Presidency does not believe that
there is a possibility that the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague
(ICTY) will indict him or war-time members of the Bosnian
Presidency for crimes committed by the Army of Bosnia-Herzegovina
troops. #L#
"I do not think that it is possible given that the Presidency and I
myself prevented crimes wherever we could do it, and we succeeded in
it to a great extent," Izetbegovic was quoted by the Sarajevo-based
independent weekly 'Dani' as saying.
This long-standing Bosniak (Muslim) leader, however, expressed his
readiness to share destiny "with his general" with whom he
"defended and managed partly to defend Bosnia and its people ."
Izetbegovic also said he firmly supported the work of the
Tribunal.
"Let the Hague Tribunal do its job. It is there where the most
truthful history is being recorded about Bosnia while it was
exposed to the aggression. That record will not be without
mistakes, but it will be more correct than other ones which might be
written by people," Izetbegovic said.
On 25 July the ICTY asked the Bosnian Presidency to produce
transcripts of all the sessions the country's leadership had held
from late 1990 to early 1993.
Since the tribunal forwarded such a request, Sarajevo media have
been speculating that it may have started investigating into
Bosniak (Muslim) top officials' commanding liability for war
crimes committed against local Croats in central Bosnia and some
parts of Herzegovina. The speculations are based on the assertion
that three indictees, Generals Mehmed Alagic and Enver
Hadzihasanovic and Lieutenant Kubura, recently extradited to The
Hague on the basis of charges for their involvement in war crimes
perpetrated against Bosnian Croats, acted under the exclusive
supervision of the then supreme Bosniak political leadership.
The incumbent secretary-general of Bosnian Presidency, Anto Grbic,
on Friday confirmed they had started preparing materials and
documents wanted by the ICTY.
Some war-time Presidency members have refuted any possibility that
this body was linked with war crimes.
Nijaz Durakovic has said that key military issues had not at all
been discussed at the Presidency's sessions.
Stjepan Kljujic, a Bosnian Croat member, has said the Army BiH was
practically in the hands of one man - Aija Izetbegovic.
"I believe that a key issue in The Hague will be to establish whether
the Seventh Muslim Brigade (commanded by the above-mentioned Lt.
Kubura) was within the system and who actually led it," Kljujic was
quoted by 'Dani' as saying.
Reiterating his support to ICTY's investigations in all committed
war atrocities, Kljujic, however, warned one should not let that
the ultimate result of that job may be the equation of all the sides
in Bosnia.
There were crimes committed by some units in Sarajevo, but it was
Sarajevo as the only place where one could survive, and this cannot
be said for Bijeljina, for instance, Kljujic said referring to one
of Bosnian towns where Serbs persecuted non-Serbs as soon as they
overran such areas.
To claim that all the three sides (Muslims, Croats and Serbs) are
the same is simply not correct, Kljujic said.
(hina) ms