NUŽDIĆ: ABSENCE OF CONVICTIONS DOES NOT MEAN THERE WAS NO CRIME

BANJA LUKA, MAY 14 /SRNA/ - The acting director of the Republic Research Centre of War, War Crimes and Tracing Missing Persons, Viktor Nuždić, has stated today that the crime committed by Muslim forces against JNA soldiers in the Tuzla Convoy 33 years ago has been thoroughly documented by the Centre, knowing that the judiciary in BiH turns a blind eye to Serb victims.

He emphasized that the absence of convictions does not mean the crime didn't happen.

"There are no convictions, but that doesn't mean there was no crime. No matter how much these casualties are downplayed and the number of victims diminished, the truth will remain and endure," Nuždić emphasized.

He pointed out that the crime occurred in Tuzla, a city once proud of its multiculturalism.

"The JNA soldiers killed in the Tuzla Convoy are being murdered again nowadays - by minimizing the number of the killed and lying about the nature of the attack," Nuždić said on the occasion of the anniversary of the killing of JNA personnel in Tuzla on May 15, 1992.

He added that JNA personnel in Tuzla only wanted to go home, trusting completely in the agreement on peaceful withdrawal that had been reached.

Nuždić drew parallels with similar events in Sarajevo - at Bistrik, Veliki Park, Skenderija, and Dobrovoljačka Street - with the Tuzla Convoy:

"JNA members were attacked and killed, and no one has been held responsible for it," he stated.

He said that although certain legal proceedings were initiated, some long and drawn-out, others brief, the end result is the same: no convictions.

Because of this judicial inaction, Nuždić said, the Centre took it upon itself to document the Tuzla Convoy crime in full.

"We reconstructed the events in detail, provided a scientific explanation, and described them in the Atlas of Crimes against Serbs, thus restoring dignity to the victims," said Nuždić.

Tomorrow in Tuzla will mark the 33rd anniversary of the crime committed by Muslim forces against members of the Yugoslav People's Army /JNA/, as well as the exodus of the Serb people from that area.

On May 15, 1992, Muslim forces attacked a JNA convoy in Tuzla that was, according to a previously agreed-upon arrangement, supposed to peacefully withdraw from the military barracks in the city. 54 JNA soldiers were killed, 78 wounded and 44 captured during the attack, of whom five were later executed, while the others were tortured and abused.