Brammertz: I think there is no progress in reconciliation, there is a risk to society; report on region mainly negative (N1)
The prosecutor of a UN war crimes tribunal told N1 on Wednesday that his report on the level of cooperation between the countries of the region and the tribunal is mainly negative.
Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor at the Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, is on a three-day visit to Belgrade during which he has had meetings with the Serbian justice minister, state prosecutor and chief war crimes prosecutor.
He gave N1 an interview which will be aired on Thursday at 10:30 pm.
He will address the UN Security Council in mid-July to say that the situation in the region is deteriorating but that he believes there is room for improvement. Brammertz said that there is progress in terms of greater numbers of prosecutors dealing with war crimes cases but added that he is concerned because state officials have been glorifying convicted war criminals in every country in the region.
The chief prosecutor said he does not see progress in terms of reconciliation. When I was in Sarajevo I saw them use three different history textbooks depending on whether there are more Serbs, Croats or Bosniaks in the school. If there is no common understanding of the past and there is refusal to look at the past how can you agree on a common future, he said.
He warned that the current generation of politicians, including some who have experienced the war is leaving the new generations a burden because they are not being truthful about the past. That is dangerous and has to be dealt with, Brammertz said.