CRIMES AGAINST SERBS REMAIN UNPUNISHED, CROATIA HAS THUS ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY

KNIN, AUGUST 25 /SRNA/ - Serb civilians in Grubori near Knin were killed 31 years ago by members of the Croatian police; a crime was committed there, but those responsible have not been punished, meaning that Croatia has assumed responsibility, it was said today at a commemoration in the village.

A commemoration was held in Grubori for the Serb civilian victims killed during and after the criminal “Storm” military operation. Those attending said that Serbs who remain living in Croatia feel a sense of injustice because no one has been punished for the crimes committed against their fellow Serbs.

President of the Serb National Council Milorad Pupovac stressed that, by failing to punish those responsible and to deliver justice fully, Croatia has ultimately assumed responsibility for crimes committed against Serbs in Croatia during and after “Storm,” including the crime in Grubori.

Pupovac said that both the Zagreb County Court and the Hague Tribunal established beyond doubt that a crime had been committed in Grubori, but that justice had not been served due to the cover-up of some cases, obstruction of justice in others, and an insufficient willingness to see the proceedings through to the end.

“I will say it here today, and I could have said the same when I was in Uzdolje, in Varivode, and in numerous places in Lika, Banija and Kordun: we Serbs who have remained living in Croatia feel a sense of injustice because those who committed these crimes have not been held accountable,” said Pupovac, who is also president of the SDSS

SDSS Deputy President Anja Šimpraga stressed that every innocent victim deserves a name, dignity and justice, and that it is the duty of the Serb people, regardless of how many years have passed, to remember and speak about it.

“And it is our duty to do everything in our power to ensure that it never happens again that a person is killed simply because they remained at their doorstep, in their home, on their land,” Šimpraga stressed.

Šimpraga noted that preparations are underway for the final phase of the project to restore the remaining houses in Grubori, five years after the Croatian Government adopted a decision to do so.

A memorial service for the victims was held by priests of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Metropolitanate of Dalmatia, and the victims’ families laid a wreath at the memorial cross in the Grubori hamlet.

The commemoration was attended by representatives of Croatia’s highest officials, representatives of the Serbian Embassy, as well as Alen Tahiri, director of the Office for Human Rights and the Rights of National Minorities of the Croatian Government.

The commemoration was organized by the Serb National Council and the Council of the Serb National Minority of Šibenik-Knin County.

The massacre of six Serb civilians in Grubori, a hamlet belonging to the Knin village of Plavno, took place 21 days after the criminal “Storm” military operation. At least 32 Serb civilians, with an average age of over 70, were killed, including nine women in the hamlets of Đurići, Dubajići, and Bursaći.