Storm footage tops political agenda

Storm footage tops political agenda

The Serbian Government has stated that “Atif Dudaković and other war criminals who committed crimes against Serbs must be arrested immediately” and must stand trial in a court of law for their actions.

Croatian political analyst Pavle Kalinić appeared on HTV and stated that “the release of the amateur-shot video by Belgrade television station B92, in which alleged war crimes were committed on the territory of Dvora na Uni during Operation Storm, is no coincidence, it is an effort to sling mud on that military-political action.”

Asked about the role of Dudaković in the action, who the Serbian media has accused of committing war crimes during Operation Storm, Kalinić said that the Croatian judicial system does not have jurisdiction over what Dudaković did on the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Croatian Internal Affairs Ministry confirmed that it has begun an investigation into events occurring in the region of Dvora na Uni during Operation Storm.

Military Commander of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Army’s Fifth Corps Atif Dudaković said yesterday that the footage shown on RTS where his troops torched a Serbian village in the Petrovac region is “a montage and represents the lies of Serbian television.”

He told Radio-Television Republic of Srpska that the footage is an answer to the genocide charges pressed by Bosnia-Herzegovina against Serbia, an act of manipulation and a media war with the goal of implementing the ideas of Serbian politics. The Bosnia-Herzegovina Prosecutor’s Office has begun an investigation as well into the war crimes allegedly committed against Serbs which were shown on B92.

The investigation in Bosnia-Herzegovina resulting from the footage shown on B92 did not yield many reactions in public of political circles. However, media reports over the last several days have taken the entire situation deeper into political waters, which could have eventual negative effects on the investigation itself.

The negative image of the Republic of Srpska’s officials concerning Hague cooperation, along with several Serbian officials, most notably Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, adds to the seriousness of the investigation, and has initiated the Bosnia-Herzegovina press to put an added emphasis on the political circumstances.

The Croatian media is asking the question of how these videos, which are now seeing the light of day for the first time and are not of the greatest quality, managed to appear exactly during the period of time in which Operation Storm is being commemorated. Croatian analysts see this as an obvious effort to show their freedom-fighting operation in a negative light to the international community.

Similar questions are being asked by the Bosnia-Herzegovina media. Many political analysts believe that this video was planned to be released right before the moment when the International War Crimes Tribunal is preparing to reach a verdict on the charges of aggression and genocide which Bosnia-Herzegovina pressed against Serbia and Montenegro. Many in Bosnia-Herzegovina see this as an effort to even out the war crimes committed by all sides during the wars within the former Yugoslavia in the eyes of the international community.

Sarajevo media groups say that the investigations will be compromised by the fact that Republic of Srpska officials and Koštunica are pulling most for a quick confirmation of the war crimes committed during Operation Storm.

They fact that the campaign is being led by people such as Čavić, Dodik and Koštunica who are already labelled as “protectors and sympathisers of war crimes suspects” may compromise the investigation, according to Bosnian media outlets.

Spokesperson of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution Bruno Vekarić has called on all people who have access to related video footage and evidence to contact the prosecutor’s office in order to help process the cases against war crimes suspects.

Vekarić told Beta that the prosecution has asked RTS for the footage it has of Atif Dudaković, in which he is seen ordering his troops to burn and destroy Serbian villages.

“I am calling on the people to give their videos to the Prosecutor’s Office, not to have to find out what happened via television. If this footage was given to the Hague Tribunal four years ago, it would be a key part of the indictment, and now we can only call on our regional colleagues to initiate an investigation.” Vekarić said.