Balkans: Leaders agree to together bring justice to war criminals

Sarajevo, 3 Feb. (AKI) – Leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia agreed on Friday to intensify cooperation in the joint fight against organized crime and the procesecution of war crimes committed during 1991-1995 war that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

Meeting on Jahorina Mountain, near Sarajevo, presidents of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia stated their common goal was membership in the European Union. Croatian president Ivo Josipovic whose country will join the EU in 2013, vowed he would support Bosnia and Serbia to achieve the same goal.

Josipovic and Serbian president Boris Tadic signed an agreement to work togehter to bring war criminals to justice, but Zeljko Komsic, who chairs Bosnia’s three member state presidency said his country couldn’t sign because there was no consensus on the issue.

Croatia and especially Serbia have made a considerable headway in processing war criminals after the United Nations war crimes tribunal, which is to close in 2014, turned over the remaining cases to local courts.

Bosnian Serbs, the second biggest ethnic group, have criticized Bosnian judiciary for prosecuting only Serbs and Croats, while ignoring crimes committed by majority Muslims. Komsic said it wasn’t the case, but a “political pressure” he didn’t agree with.

Jahorina hosted the 1984 winter Olympics and the leaders of the three neighboring countries also discussed joint bidding to host international sports events and a joint consular and diplomatic representation in third countries to cut down costs.

On the margins of the meeting, Tadic told journalists he was ready to meet with Hashim Thaci, prime minister of Kosovo whose majority Albanians declared independence in 2008.

But the meeting should be in the function of resolving the outstanding problems, “not the promotion of Kosovo statehood”, which Belgrade doesn’t recognize, Tadic said.