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Documenta Reacts to Attacks on Witnesses
The Documenta Centre reacted to the attacks on Vladimir Gojanovića, witness in the trial of Croatian generals Gotovina, Čermak and Markač for crimes committed during and after the `Storm` campaign of 1995, at the Hague Tribunal, noting the lack of willingness of Croatian society to accept that Croatian armed forces also committed crimes.
Documenta reminds that the data collected by the Croatian Helsinki Committe shows that at least 410 people were killed during the operation. Croatian generals at the Hague are charged with responsibility for the killing of 37 civilians.
The organisation adds that every witness has the obligation to appear in a trial if summoned, but that the conditions in both national courts and at ICTY remain sub-standard, especially for witnesses prepared to give unpopular testimonies. The courageous people that decide give testimony expose themselves and their families to various pressure and threats to their lives.
`When a person like Gojanović talks about perpetrators of war crimes and very specific crimes, he or she can count on extremely negative public reactions. In spite of the efforts of the judiciary to improve witness support programmes, there is still the challenge to secure the favourable social environment`, says Vesna Teršelić from Documenta, adding that public debate on credibility of witnesses is, at best, inappropriate.
`It is the Court, not the public or the associations of war veterans that will decide whether Gojanović`s testimony is valid and acceptable. How comes the media are never interested in the credibility of testimonies in trials for war crimes in which victims were Croats?`, asks Teršelič.
Documenta invites the public and associations of war veterans in particular, to leave the witness and his family alone and to allow them to lead normal lives, contributing to creation of more favourable environment for witnesses.
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