BIRN BiH Marks the Fifth Anniversary
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On Thursday, May 27 at 6 p.m. in “Mak” Gallery in Sarajevo, in the presence of representatives of The State Court and Prosecution, international and domestic partners, and collegues journalists, BIRN marked the fifth anniversary of its work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We started working in 2005. as a small group of enthusiasts who believed that the truth is the only way towards reconciliation and progress in our country. The beginning of the War-crimes Chamber of the Court of BiH was an invitation for us, to join those who are fighting for truth every day”, Anisa Suceska-Vekic, the director of BIRN BiH said.
From March 2006 to the present date BIRN journalists have followed, from the beginning to en end, each trial conducted before the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They have written more than 8,000 daily trial reports, analysis and research articles.
Reports made by BIRN’s Justice Report Agency publicly raised numerous issues on war-crimes processing, judicial reform and coming to terms with the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.
“I would like to thank all our readers, listeners, and those who are watching our program, for their letters of support. I would also like to thank our colleuges journalists, for enabling our work to reach as many citizens, as it can. I owe a special grateness to the victims associations for their support, cooperation and eternal patience”, Suceska-Vekic added.
Beside that, the director of BIRN BiH thanked the donors: the governments of Norway, Switzerland, Canada, United Kingdom, and United States, SOROS fondation, organization NED, OSCE mission in BiH, and Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
BIRN also promoted its publication titled “The Age of Truth”, which contains an overview of the work performed by the War Crimes Chamber with the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period from 2005 to 2010.
For each case presented in it, the publication brings basic data on the person or the past and present proceedings against the person. It also gives a brief overview of crimes described in indictments or verdicts.
“We paid special attention to explanations of second instance verdicts, because they contain historically significant court facts determined by trial chambers in relation to certain crimes, victims and perpetrators”, Aida Alic, BIRN journalist, and the author of publication, said.
