Balkans | The reaction of the President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Baradar, to describing the war criminal as “my friend”

Lydia Baradar, who was elected president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBIH), one of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, called war criminal Dario Kordic “my friend” and his statements of support sparked a reaction.

Bosnian Croat politician Baradar was criticized for his photo with Kordić, who served as commander of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was on trial for the Ahmici massacre.

“I will never hide my past and my friends. Whatever I do, I do it with transparency. The war broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina 30 years ago, and now we must look to the future,” said Baradar, who has served as director of the FBIH in the past weeks, in a statement on the subject. He said.

After Baradar’s statements, associations of relatives of war victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina called on the High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, to remove Baradar from office for supporting the convicted war criminal.

The ICTY sentenced Kordić to 25 years in prison in The Hague in the case of the killing of 116 Bosnian civilians in the village of Amici, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 16 April 1993 by HVO forces.

The decision published by the ICTY on 17 December 2004 confirmed that the Bosnian Croat politician and HVO commander Kordić had planned the military attack on the village of Ahmici in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Kordic was released in 2014 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

AA