DODIK: KILLINGS OF SERBS IN LEDIĆI AIMED AT THEIR EXTERMINATION; ACQUITTALS REPRESENT FAILURE OF JUSTICE

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 2 /SRNA/ - President Milorad Dodik stated that the killing of Serb civilians in the village of Ledići in 1992 was one of the most brutal and tragic crimes committed against the Serb people during the Homeland-Defense War, with perpetrators targeting entire families, including children and the elderly, in what he described as an effort to eliminate the Serb population from the area.

"In Ledići, those killed were not soldiers on the front line, but innocent people whose only 'fault' was being Serbs and wanting to remain in their homes. Particularly painful is the fact that children were among the victims, including 18-month-old Milun Tešanović, whose childhood was cut short before it had truly begun. Tragically, at the very start of his life, he encountered the cruelty and brutality of those who took it", Dodik told SRNA ahead of tomorrow's commemoration of the crimes committed against Serbs in Ledići, in the municipality of Trnovo, by members of the wartime Army of BiH. He said that Ledići was not a military target, but a peaceful village whose residents, despite a prior non-aggression agreement with neighboring Muslim villages, were killed, tortured and expelled because of their Serb identity, faith, culture, language and origin. "This was a deliberate act of ethnic cleansing aimed at erasing every trace of Serb existence in the area. Today, around five Muslims live in Ledići, while according to the 1991 census, the village had 36 residents, 35 of whom were Serbs. An entire Serb village was effectively wiped out due to the bestiality of Muslim criminals", Dodik said. In addition to the pain caused by the loss of innocent civilian lives, Dodik expressed frustration over what he described as the passivity and bias of the BiH judiciary. More than three decades after this horrific crime, the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of BiH continue to demonstrate a complete disregard for Serb victims. Proceedings related to this crime turned into a farce, while those accused of the murders in Ledići and the wider Trnovo area were acquitted or the indictments were rendered ineffective", Dodik pointed out. Dodik reminded that three individuals charged in connection with the crime were acquitted in a first-instance verdict by the Court of BiH in 2021 after the court found that the prosecution had failed to prove their participation in a joint criminal enterprise or establish their command or individual responsibility. The verdict was later upheld by the court's appellate chamber. "With that decision, the victims of Ledići were, in a sense, victimized once again. This kind of selective justice is a continuation of injustice through peacetime means. For years, the judicial system in BiH has sent the message that Serb lives matter less and that there is no punishment for those who killed them. That is not justice, but a mockery of the victims", Dodik stated. Despite the fact that the crime in Ledići remains one of many wartime crimes against Serbs for which no one has been convicted, Dodik said Republika Srpska and the Serb people would not abandon their pursuit of justice or allow crimes to be forgotten. He added that justice which distinguishes between victims is not justice, but a political instrument that deepens divisions and grievances. "It is our patriotic duty and historical obligation to remember Ledići, to bear witness to the truth, and to pass it on to future generations. We owe that to little Milun and to the Tešanović and Vasić families, who suffered the most in Ledići", Dodik said, adding that Republika Srpska is a guarantee that the Serb people will never again be subjected to killing, persecution and impunity.