BRČANSKA MALTA CRIME WAS BEGINNING OF ETHNIC CLEANSING OF SERBS FROM TUZLA

TUZLA, MAY 15 /SRNA/ – The crime against JNA members at Brčanska Malta in Tuzla, which occurred 34 years ago, was the beginning of the ethnic cleansing of the Serb population from that area, survivor of the Tuzla Convoy Slavko Novaković said today.

Novaković expressed hope that the BiH authorities will understand that after 34 years they must prosecute those responsible for this crime, warning that otherwise there can be no coexistence in these areas.

"At Brčanska Malta there was a massacre of Serb soldiers who were supposed to withdraw from Tuzla by May 19 under an agreement. However, four days before the agreed deadline, a cowardly and treacherous attack occurred," Novaković told the press in Tuzla, where he attended a commemoration marking 34 years since the crime against JNA members.

He stated that this attack was the introduction to the ethnic cleansing of more than 80,000 Serbs from the Tuzla area, for which he blamed the then Tuzla leadership headed by Selim Bešlagić.

Advisor to the mayor of Bijeljina Radoslav Ostojić said that today, at Brčanska Malta, they are respectfully remembering the killed JNA soldiers who were peacefully withdrawing from the city, and that the crime was broadcast live by local television.

"This is a crime that must not be forgotten. It is our duty to gather every year and remind people of what happened. This is a crime for which justice has never been served, as if the victims never existed, which makes it even more painful for their families," Ostojić said.