OSTOJIĆ: CROATIAN JUDICIARY APPLIES DOUBLE STANDARDS

BANJA LUKA, JULY 30 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska Minister of Labour, War Veterans and Disabled Persons Protection Radan Ostojić says that politically motivated trials against Serbs have become common practice in Croatia, while no one has been held accountable for crimes against and pogrom of Serbs during criminal Operation Storm.

Commenting on the ruling by a Croatian court sentencing former JNA General Borislav Đukić and six other former officials of Republika Srpska Krajina to a total of 94 years in prison, Ostojić says that this was not merely a question of one verdict, but of law, justice, truth and equal standards.

"While General Borislav Đukić, after spending 11 years in detention, is once again facing a severe sentence, we ask who has been held accountable for the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Serbs from Republika Srpska Krajina, for their forced displacement, suffering and destroyed property?" Ostojić stressed.

He noted that they are not seeking privileges, but rather equal application of the law and equal justice for everyone, instead of politically motivated processes against Serbs in Croatia, which have become standard practice.

Ostojić also pointed out that Croatia is preparing celebrations marking Operation Storm, while justice for the Serb victims remains absent and does not reflect the scale of their suffering, announced the ministry.

Yesterday, a panel of judges at the County Court in Split handed down a non-final verdict sentencing General Borislav Đukić and six former military and police officials of Republika Srpska Krajina to a total of 94 years in prison, while proceedings against Dragan Harambašić were discontinued following his death.