“Serbia will continue cooperation with Hague Tribunal”

BELGRADE Even though the Operation Storm is one of the biggest crimes since WWII, Serbia will continue its cooperation with The Hague, says PM Ivica Dacic. He told reporters on Sunday after a memorial service for the Serb victims in Belgrade's Cathedral Church that the acquittal of Croat Generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac was a “slap in the face and a suicide”. “Serbia will continue cooperation with Hague Tribunal” Dacic stressed that “all we can do is to keep the historical memory of all victims and those who were forgotten after WWII”. He noted that Serbia would support all activities aimed at finding a legal way get justice for war crimes against Serbs and stressed that “it would have been better if the Croat generals were sentenced to a single day in prison instead of being released”. “Such verdict threatens the reconciliation process because it is based on facing the crimes. If we have statements, which are a proof, then it is not true that there was no command responsibility. We are not saying this as something against the Croatian people but nobody should be allowed to celebrate pogrom,” Dacic pointed out. He said that Serbia would continue to cooperate with The Hague because it was its obligation and “we need to find a way to revise the ruling”. The prime minister said that the Tribunal’s decision would affect Serbia’s cooperation with Croatia but that bilateral relations would continue. “Our cooperation with Croatia can be best described as ‘cold peace’. We had cold war in the past and this now is cold peace,” Dacic explained. “We can be angry at Serbia for failing to defend its interests and we can also condemn the celebration of the Storm, because it made the expulsion and killing of Serbs legitimate,” the prime minister concluded. Ivica Dacic is seen in front of Belgrade's Cathedral Church (Tanjug) Beta Tanjug

“Serbia will continue cooperation with Hague Tribunal”

Dačić stressed that “all we can do is to keep the historical memory of all victims and those who were forgotten after WWII”.

He noted that Serbia would support all activities aimed at finding a legal way get justice for war crimes against Serbs and stressed that “it would have been better if the Croat generals were sentenced to a single day in prison instead of being released”.

“Such verdict threatens the reconciliation process because it is based on facing the crimes. If we have statements, which are a proof, then it is not true that there was no command responsibility. We are not saying this as something against the Croatian people but nobody should be allowed to celebrate pogrom,” Dačić pointed out.

He said that Serbia would continue to cooperate with The Hague because it was its obligation and “we need to find a way to revise the ruling”.

The prime minister said that the Tribunal’s decision would affect Serbia’s cooperation with Croatia but that bilateral relations would continue.

“Our cooperation with Croatia can be best described as ‘cold peace’. We had cold war in the past and this now is cold peace,” Dačić explained.

“We can be angry at Serbia for failing to defend its interests and we can also condemn the celebration of the Storm, because it made the expulsion and killing of Serbs legitimate,” the prime minister concluded.