Serbian Newspaper Calls for Probe of Alleged Atrocities

A pro-government Serbian newspaper Sunday called for an investigation into alleged massacres by Bosnian Serbs after they captured the U.N. “safe area” of Srebrenica, saying the guilty must be punished.

Politika newspaper said Serbs must honestly expose war crimes committed by their own side if they want Muslim and Croat war criminals to be brought to justice.

“If . . . there were Serbs who were able to kill a child or shoot an old man in the back, they must be punished,” said the paper, which usually reflects the views of the Serbian leadership.

“This is the best way to wash the shame from the faces of tens of thousands of brave Serb soldiers who fought for their state. This is the only way to ensure that their children will not have to be ashamed of their names and nationality.”

Reports from survivors of the fall of Srebrenica in July allege torture, executions of thousands of Muslims and incidents such as an old man being forced to eat the liver of his grandson.

The paper urged that Bosnian Serb authorities launch a serious investigation to establish what happened at Srebrenica.

“Without mercy or ‘higher-interest’ excuses, they must find the criminals and bring them before a Serb jury,” it said. “If we pardon our criminals, we will have to pardon theirs as well.”