Modriča, 19 February 2013
Almir Alić, the ICTY’s Outreach representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), today spoke to a group of students from the Jovan Cvijić high school in the northern town of Modriča.
One student, whose parents had fled from Gacko in south-eastern BiH during the war, was interested to hear about any cases relating to that municipality, while another wanted to know if how many people the ICTY had so far sentenced to life imprisonment.
When asked, the students expressed optimism about the possibilities for reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia. It will happen, said one, because “people are people, regardless of where they come from.” Another suggested that the key to achieving reconciliation was “acknowledging that crimes were committed and bringing those responsible to account.”
At the close of the event, the students were given evaluation forms to fill in. The young people were all extremely positive about the presentation. “It was very good,” said one. “I wouldn’t mind having another.”