BUDIMIR: GENOCIDE COMMITTED AGAINST SERBS IN SKELANI

SKELANI, JANUARY 16 /SRNA/ – The Srebrenica area is a major killing ground of the Serb people, and the killing of 30 percent of Skelani's population in a single day constitutes genocide, said Republika Srpska Minister of the Interior Željko Budimir.

According to him, there is no justice for the innocent Serb victims, while those who committed crimes against the Serb population in the Srebrenica area are today regarded as national heroes. "These are facts that show that BiH cannot function in a way where executioners and victims are expected to live within the same community," Budimir pointed out. Budimir emphasized that Republika Srpska is the only place where Serbs can live freely and that it can be viewed as the homeland of a martyred people. He noted that, when it comes to Serbs, all those for whom there was even the slightest suspicion of having committed crimes have been prosecuted, many of whom are still unjustly imprisoned today. "On the other hand, you have a man who led the Srebrenica paramilitary forces that committed these crimes, Naser Orić, where in just one day 69 people were killed here, and a total of 305 overall. That is 30 percent of Skelani's population, and that is genocide," Budimir stressed. Today in Skelani, the suffering of Serb civilians and soldiers from this and neighboring villages was commemorated. On this day 33 years ago, 69 of them were killed by Muslim fighters.