Croatia’s Defense Minister Damir Krsticevic visited Medjugorje in BiH on Wednesday, after cancelling a planned trip to Sarajevo the previous week. His earlier trip was cancelled after news circulated that Krsticevic is being investigated by BiH authorities for involvement in war crimes committed in 1995.
Bosnian Serb officials suspect that he committed crimes during Croatia’s operations ‘Maestral’ and ‘Juzni potez’ (‘Southern Strip’), when 1,644 Serb civilians and soldiers were allegedly killed and around 120,000 people expelled.
Krsticevic has denied any wrongdoing and insisted on Wednesday that all war crimes must be prosecuted without bias.
“Every crime must be punished. But judicial bodies must be independent, must be free from political pressures. There shouldn’t be any discrimination that some are prosecuted in one way, and others in a different way,” he said.
