US Wrong to Deport 150 Bosnian Serbs for 'War Crimes' – Serbian Press

The Serbian press reacts to US plans to deport at least 150 Bosnian Serbs from the US on suspicion of war crimes, drawing comparisons with the experiences of US soldiers who served in Vietnam.

Plans announced by US immigration officials last week to deport at least 150 Bosnian Serbs suspected of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia has met with opposition in Serbia, where the media claims that the individuals the US is intending to deport are guilty of no more than wearing a military uniform, and did not take part in war crimes.

According to US immigration officials, around 300 emigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina are suspected of having committed war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, and officials told the New York Times last week that they believe they have grounds to deport at least 150 of them.

However, Obrad Kesić, chief representative in Washington of Republika Srpska, one the of two entities which make up the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, told Politika.rs he is steadfast in his belief that those accused are innocent. "None of these people who for a decade have been hounded and put before court are even suspected of war crimes. They are being hounded just because they wore the uniform of the Serbian Army, or the Army of the Republika Srpska." 

According to the newspaper, individuals who emigrated to the US following the Yugoslav war are being pursued because at one time they "wore a military uniform," or their name is included in a list of those doing military service, but who never actually served. "There is a known case of one Bosnian Serb whose name appears on the list of those doing military service, but who left the country with his family before the war started," protests Politika.

"Not everyone who went to Vietnam took part in the massacre at My Lai.," the paper quotes the defense lawyer for one of those accused as saying during court proceedings.

According to reports published in the US on Saturday, immigration officials have identified at least 300 individuals they suspect of having committed war crimes during the war in Yugoslavia, and believe the number of suspects could reach more than 600 as their investigations continue.