Bosnian officials and parties reacted differently to the arrests of the former Commander of the Fifth Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RBiH) Atif Dudakovic and 11 other suspects of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Bosnia Council of Ministers’ Chairman Denis Zvizdic said that “the arrests of those who have always been available to the law-enforcement agencies and who regularly responded to the calls to interrogation and searches by the competent institutions, are turning into a worrying trend,” Zvizdic said. “Dudakovic, Nadarevic, Mahmuljin, Vikic and other generals have been and continue to be synonymous for the honourable and heroic defence of Bosnia and their innocence will surely be proven. Because of that, they will have the full and lasting support of everyone who loves Bosnia and they will not allow their further humiliation.”

Democratic Action Party (SDA) also reacted saying that the “decisions on the arrest and custody measures were made solely to humiliate those arrested.”

“It is therefore impossible not to conclude that their arrest and detention was made for the sole purpose of humiliating the members of the Fifth Corps who defended the Krajina region honourably and heroically before the aggressors’ attack,” SDA said. 

The Independent Bloc notes that “historical facts indicate that Dudakovic was the first man of the Krajina defence and that he managed to liberate a large part of the then occupied Bosnian territory.”

A retired General of the Army of RBiH Jovan Divjak said that Dudakovic was arrested like some criminal, adding that his arrest was neither humane nor civilised. He concluded that he himself was once arrested on similar charges which were rejected by the court and that he understands how Dudakovic must feel.

Alliance for Better Future (SBB) believes that the security services and the Prosecution should focus on prosecuting every alleged crime, but that the party is concerned by the fact that the leading officer of the Fifth Corps is being compromised for years through media and politically, thus setting the stage for collective prosecution.

Dudakovic’s arrest was commented by Milorad Kojic, the Director of Republika Srpska entity centre for war and war crimes research and search for missing persons, saying that “Dudakovic didn't just order, but executed people, himself.”

Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said that Dudakovic’s arrest was not delayed from the standpoint of the law, because war crimes never become obsolete, but it was delayed from the standpoint of justice.

“The descendants of Dudakovic's victims have been waiting for justice for more than 20 years. In the meantime, many died, as dozens of witnesses of his brutal crimes died, and 12 years have passed since I, together with the then President of RS, filed a war crime lawsuit against Atif Dudakovic, whose orders for committing crimes were shot by TV cameras,” Dodik said.