Investigators and researchers of war crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian War found that their experience was the justice of the atrocities committed by Russian troops during the Ukrainian invasion. It states that it will bring valuable lessons to those who seek it.
And while the first Ukrainian verdict has already taken place just four months after the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina experts say that Ukrainians still have years of difficult work. I warn you that you are facing.
The people interviewed by VOA have one major advantage over Bosnians in that in Ukraine it is much more difficult to hide evidence of war crimes and mass graves today. Said. The main reason is the availability of the latest technology, from smartphones to satellite imagery.
"Sufficient to draw a very clear line in the collaborative action of various authorities, from Dutch prosecutors to the International Criminal Court and various other sources to help obtain this evidence. I think we already have some evidence: among crimes, victims, perpetrators, and principals. " Refic Hodzic, a consultant for the European Institute of Peace, who lives in Prijedor, Bosnia and The Hague, the Netherlands, said.
Prijedor is one of the most suffering cities during the Bosnian War. After Bosnian Serbs came to power in late April 1992, non-Serbs were ordered to mark their homes and wear white ribbons around their arms when traveling through the city. .. Residents were arrested, tortured and imprisoned in the camp. More than 3,000 civilians, including 102 children, have been killed or are still missing.
"Small towns like this cannot recover from such crimes," said Hodzic, who has worked in the field of transitional justice dealing with human rights abuse heritage for over 25 years. He added that the events in Ukraine are reminiscent of the war in former Yugoslavia and Syria.
He said the similarities were "dominantly dehumanization of the target group in order to minimize empathy with people and the general public involved in the crime in some way. Preparations are included. " You can react and, so to speak, hold political responsibility to those who order these crimes.
What is clear must be proved in court
According to the United Nations, more than 4,000 civilians in Ukraine since the invasion of Russia began. Was killed. The magnitude of the crime and the number of victims from places like Mariupol are not yet known, so there are concerns that the number may be much higher. More than 6 million have fled abroad and more than 8 million have been evacuated domestically.
More than 100,000 people were killed in a less than four-year war in Bosnia that ended with the Dayton Peace Agreement in December 1995. Hundreds of thousands have been permanently evacuated domestically and internationally. Bosnia today is divided. It is divided into two organizations: Republika Srpska, which is dominated by Republika Srpska, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation, which is dominated by Croats and Bosniaks. He said more than 25,000 missing persons were found, identified and buried in Bosnia after the war. Twenty-six years later, he said more than 7,000 people were still listed as missing.
"It is very important to check as soon as possible whether people are alive, in captivity, killed and buried, individually or in mass graves. It's important to collect and systematize this information to create a database that enables quick searches for mass graves after the war, identifying mass graves and finding victims. " Mashovich advises Ukrainians.
In a recent interview, Ukrainian investigators confirmed to VOA that the knowledge gained from previous wars, including Bosnia, would be useful in their work.
In July 1995, Emile Suljajic worked as an interpreter for the UN forces in the Srebrenica region, saving him from the fate of many of his compatriots. Srebrenica was in the position of a UN safe zone, which was occupied by the Army of Republika Srpska on July 11. The former Yugoslavia International Criminal Tribunal (ICTY) in The Hague described the crimes committed by the Serve army in Srebrenica as genocide. More than 8,000 men were killed.
Suljagic is currently the director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, an organization whose mission is to commemorate the victims of the genocide. He told VOA that the passage of time is one of the key factors influencing the collection of evidence of war crimes, especially if the location is not readily available.
"Another obstacle could be a deliberate measure, perhaps planned to conceal a crime committed by a Russian. Another obstacle – a witness. Whether there are witnesses. I don't know. More and more testimonies are becoming less credible over time. It's easy to discourage people and damage their credibility, "says Suljagic.
"What is clear to all of us must be proved in court," Suljagic added. "Monuments, memorials, culture of memorials, everything else will come later.
Bosnian victims do not feel that justice is fulfilled
After the Russian troops withdrew from the neighborhood, Kyiv, a mass grave, was found dead on the streets, some were tied up, and some left traces of torture. Ukrainian officials said they had found more than 400 bodies in Bucha alone.
Russia, which began on February 24, 2022 since the invasion, refused to target civilians. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Labrov said the scene in the Kieu region was a "gradually controlled anti-Russian provocation", AP news agency said.
Masovich said so Torture sounds familiar. "In the end, there is a denial of crime and we have already witnessed it. In Bosnia, individuals supporting war criminals are one step further, perhaps waiting for Ukraine. At some point Russia We may even praise the criminal and the crimes committed. "
ICTY charged the total with the 1993-2017 slaughter, crimes against humankind, violations of war laws and customs, and Of the 161 people who violated the Geneva Convention on the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war, a total of 93 were convicted. They are Radovan Karadži, the former president of Republika Srpska, and Ratco Muradick, the former commander of the Republika Srpska army, including crimes in Srebrenica and Prijedor. Having spent part of his career at ICTY, Bosnia is a great way to take advantage of this institution, whose work was not even hindered by Russia, to make criminal immunity impossible and to accept the truth about what happened. He said he missed the opportunity. On the matter, he cites the widespread denial and hatred of crimes by politicians, including Priyedre, whose authorities recently banned victims from walking in memory, but in neighboring Serbia, prisoners of war crimes decorated. He also quotes the fact that he has appeared as a TV analyst in response.
"If you live in a society that admits that a crime has been committed against you, respects what you have experienced, and bows before you suffer, punishment for the perpetrators makes sense. "Society can feel that justice is somehow achievable throughout your life," Hosick said. It is difficult to expect victims to feel that justice is fulfilled, regardless of the trial, as is now the case with Russia in Ukraine.
Suljagic said Ukraine should not be overly dependent on international justice. Instead, you need to prosecute and prosecute the perpetrator himself.
"I am confident that people will be held liable for being arrested, arrested and prosecuted by Ukrainians."
Ukrainian Supreme Prosecutor Iryna Venediktova recently said. Ukrai said ne has identified more than 600 Russians suspected of war crimes, but criminal prosecution has already begun against 80 suspects.
Veronica Balderas Iglesias and the "Friends of Srebrenica" group contributed to this report.