SARAJEVO, Aug 28 (Hina) - A co-chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Haris Silajdzic, on Saturday confirmed he stuck by his previously made statements on the responsibility of Croatia's state leadership for the
Croat-Muslim conflict in Bosnia and for attempts aimed at partitioning Bosnia. In a statement carried by the Sarajevo media, Silajdzic said his statement of August 25 in the Zagreb daily "Jutarnji list" was primarily a political opinion and it did not "prejudice anyone's responsibility according to international criminal law". Political assessments about the causes and consequences of the war in Bosnia would not be so topical if the same policy were not being conducted today as well, with somewhat different means, however, with the same goal, he said. "A proof of this are parastate systems in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina which are still
SARAJEVO, Aug 28 (Hina) - A co-chairman of the Council of Ministers
of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Haris Silajdzic, on Saturday confirmed he
stuck by his previously made statements on the responsibility of
Croatia's state leadership for the Croat-Muslim conflict in Bosnia
and for attempts aimed at partitioning Bosnia.
In a statement carried by the Sarajevo media, Silajdzic said his
statement of August 25 in the Zagreb daily "Jutarnji list" was
primarily a political opinion and it did not "prejudice anyone's
responsibility according to international criminal law".
Political assessments about the causes and consequences of the war
in Bosnia would not be so topical if the same policy were not being
conducted today as well, with somewhat different means, however,
with the same goal, he said.
"A proof of this are parastate systems in the Federation of Bosnia-
Herzegovina which are still functioning thanks to support from the
neighbourhood. Numerous cases of privatisation in ethnically
cleansed territories, with companies from Croatia emerging as the
new owners of large systems, are another proof of this; neither the
federal nor the bodies of Bosnia-Herzegovina are informed of that",
Silajdzic said in the statement.
The Bosnian official said it was not relevant whether the Croatian
Government would cease cooperating with him; what mattered was
whether it would cease supporting "Croat extremists and
separatists in Bosnia-Herzegovina", stop resisting the return of
Croatian Serb refugees thus enabling the return of refugees within
Bosnia-Herzegovina, and stop supporting illegal privatisation and
import in Bosnia.
In an interview broadcast yesterday by TV BiH, Silajdzic was even
more direct.
"Of course I will not apologise for the truth....I now the truth
hurts", he said.
If apologising was being considered, he added, then one should
consider apologising for the events in Stupni Dol, Prozor, Jajce,
Stolac, Mostar, and for concentration camps in Gabela and Mostar's
heliport.
(hina) rml