KOJIĆ: SUPPORT FOR INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITIES TO ESTABLISH TRUTH

SREBRENICA, AUGUST 19 /SRNA/ - Branimir Kojić, president of the Organization of Families of Imprisoned and Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians of Srebrenica, said it was good news that the Bijeljina District Public Prosecutor's Office had opened a case over suspected irregularities at the Potočari Memorial Centre, stressing that no one can be above the law.

In a statement to SRNA, Kojić expressed confidence that the Republika Srpska Prosecutor's Office would be able to withstand the pressure, which would reach its peak following the opening of the case concerning the Potočari Memorial Centre.

"Without wishing to prejudge any court decision, we fully support the investigative authorities in carrying out their work professionally so that the truth can finally come to light," Kojić said.

He stressed that all citizens and businesses in Republika Srpska should be treated equally and comply with the laws of Republika Srpska, regardless of their name, ethnic background or religious affiliation.

"No one, including the Potočari Memorial Centre, has the exclusive right to be protected or privileged for any reason. Those responsible must be held accountable if it is proven that they broke the law, but they must also be cleared of the allegations if they are not guilty," Kojić said.

He believes that Memorial Centre Director Emir Suljagić and his associates will now launch attacks on Republika Srpska institutions, claiming that they are being harassed and portraying themselves as victims.

"Suljagić should keep quiet about this. Apart from burying his father in a cemetery that they present as a place where victims from 1995 are buried, even though we know that he was killed in an attack on a Serbian village much earlier, he also introduced the term `surviving victim of genocide,`" Kojić said.

Kojić said that Bosniaks "have martyrs, genocide victims and surviving victims of genocide," but have never said who killed 3,267 Serbs in the Middle Podrinje and Birač regions.

He said they have never answered where those who died during the war in Srebrenica were buried, nor who carried out the 40 assassinations in Srebrenica during the war, as Ibran Mustafić has said.

"Everyone is innocent until proven otherwise, but we can see that Suljagić and his associates are very nervous, which gives us reason to suspect that there may have been some unlawful activities, and this needs to be fully investigated," Kojić said.

The Bijeljina District Public Prosecutor's Office has opened a case concerning suspected irregularities at the Srebrenica Memorial Centre, but a decision on whether to launch an investigation has not yet been made, the prosecutor's office told SRNA yesterday.