LINTA: CRIMES AGAINST SERBS IN EASTERN BILOGORA MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN

BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 1 /SRNA/ - President of the Alliance of Serbs from the Region, Miodrag Linta, said today that crimes against Serbs in Eastern Bilogora must not be forgotten, and that the families of those killed and missing, as well as thousands of displaced Serbs, have the right to truth, justice and a dignified remembrance of their loved ones.

He stressed that Serbia has an obligation to persistently seek justice for the innocent victims and ensure that crimes against the Serb people do not go unpunished.

Linta reminded that at least 67 Serbs, including 41 civilians, were killed before, during, and after the Croatian paramilitary and police forces' criminal operation Otkos 10, which began on October 31, 1991. He said that only Veljko Marić had been finally convicted of the crimes, receiving a 12-year prison sentence for the murder of one Serb.

"Although the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into Veljko Marić on suspicion that he had also participated in the murder of two other Serbs, Croatia did not continue proceedings for those crimes, but instead released Marić on parole," Linta said.

He said that this course of action had further deepened the sense of injustice among the victims' families and displaced Serbs, the Alliance of Serbs from the Region said in a statement.

Linta reminded that around 4,000 Serbs were expelled from 38 settlements in the area in just a few days, marking the beginning of the destruction of a centuries-old Serbian presence there.

"Serb civilians were killed in the most brutal ways – by throat-slitting and gunfire, after being beaten and tortured, while some were burned after being killed. Following the end of the operation, the killings of the remaining Serbs continued, followed by the systematic looting, burning and blowing up of Serbian homes and Orthodox churches in Rastovac and Donja Rašenica," Linta said.