Sarajevo, March 6, 2000 (IKA/KTA) — On the occasion of the sentencing of General Tihomir Blaškić by the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague to forty-five years of prison, Archbishop Cardinal Vinko Puljić and Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Pero Sudar of Sarajevo have issued a statement that we present in its entirety:

“It is our principle not to speak out concerning the authority and freedom of any legal court that, based on the evidence, judges everyone reasonably suspected of having violated just laws. We are of the belief that human justice and divine justice seek punishment for every crime committed and have faithfully maintained this principle, especially concerning war and postwar crimes in our homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina, aware that unpunished crimes are the seeds of new crimes. Through the centuries, unpunished crimes have brought the Croatian ethnic nation in this country to the edge of survival. Due to this belief, we ourselves as well as the other bishops in Bosnia and Herzegovina have raised our voices against every evil and crime, regardless of who has perpetrated it.
“However, the approach taken by the representatives of the international community, particularly from certain countries, during and after the war, especially its court in The Hague, has aroused serious doubts concerning partiality in the selection and manner of arresting war-crime suspects. The sentence received by General Blaškić appears to confirm all our doubts and fears. This drastic sentence, which is not based upon the evidence, is confusing and frightening. Although this is a sentence pronounced by the court of the first instance, it is completely clear that the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague has not pronounced a sentence upon a man for what he has done. We do not have the right and do not wish to doubt the good intentions of the judges who, based upon the evidence presented to them and the facts in our possession, want to punish evil in order to open the path toward good. However, as human beings and with pain in our souls we ask the honorable judges and those assisting them on the path toward the truth about the other facts and crimes in this country. Once again on this occasion, we express our sorrow for the victims in Ahmići and support decisiveness for this crime to be thoroughly elucidated and for those who perpetrated it to be suitably punished. However, we ask the honorable judges in The Hague and all the honest and well-intentioned people in this country whether they know where Križaničevo selo, Buhine kuće, Dusina, Trusina, Uzdol and Bugojno are, as well as the many other places where there were Croatian Catholic victims? Do the people who perpetrated these crimes have first and last names? To those who have been the sorrowful witnesses of all the events of the war in this country, including ourselves, such justice, regardless of whether it was based upon good will and intentions, greatly resembles injustice. Justice is never achieved through injustice, regardless of by whom and in whatever name it is perpetrated. By this sentence, the court has demonstrated that it is not acquainted with Bosnia and Herzegovina, what happend here during the war and what continues to occur during the postwar period! We know that our voice will not reach The Hague. Therefore, for who knows how many times, we bow down to all the victims of the war against humanity in our country and express our closeness to all afflicted by injustice. We also distance ourselves from all who perpetrate injustice in the name of justice. We pray to the just God to grant peace to this country, based upon truth and justice, because only such a peace is suitable and desirable. We believe that peace and reconciliation in our dear homeland is essential and only possible if the person is of preeminent importance for everyone, most of all for the judges in The Hague and the representatives of the international community who decide on everything occurring today. This should be because a person is a person and not because he belongs to this or that ethnic nation, religion or party. We urge all believers to prayer and steadfastness in goodness toward every person. We urge them to maintain their dignity and even greater love and affection toward the homeland that God has given us.”