PANTELIĆ: EVEN AFTER THREE DECADES, THERE HAS BEEN NO SUBSTANTIVE PROGRESS IN THE DOBROVOLJAČKA CASE

SARAJEVO, MAY 3 /SRNA/ - Retired Major Željko Pantelić stated today at a commemoration for the fallen JNA members that even more than three decades after the events in Dobrovoljačka Street in Sarajevo, there has been no substantive progress in establishing responsibility or in building a culture of remembrance.

Pantelić, author of the book Ničiji vojnici u sarajevskom paklu 1992 /No One’s Soldiers in the Sarajevo Hell 1992/ and a former member of the 65th Motorized Guard Regiment, assessed that opposing interpretations of the wartime events in Sarajevo are still present, and that they do not reflect the experiences of those who took part in them.

"In addition to my own book, several other books by participants in the events have been published, but on the other side, fairytales about some defenders of Sarajevo, the attack by the JNA on the Presidency of BiH, and the capture of Alija Izetbegović are still being repeated," Pantelić said.

He pointed out that commemorations have for years been held without the possibility of visiting the actual site of the events in Dobrovoljačka Street, and that wreath-laying is instead organized at a different location near Skenderija.

"I regret that, after all these years, there has been no real progress in relations, as we have been received here in various ways over time, and even candles and flowers laid at the site were thrown away," Pantelić said.

Speaking about court proceedings, Pantelić recalled that the first case was closed in 2012 due to a lack of evidence, while the second case, initiated in 2018, is still in progress and relates to a limited part of the events.

He added that the length of the proceedings raises doubts about whether the case will ever be concluded and whether final justice will be delivered.