"There is no reconciliation here," said a former Croatian prisoner of war after a landmark ruling Tuesday that rejected rival claims of genocide by Croatia and Serbia stemming from their 1990s war.
"We have different views over the past. We (Croatians) cannot forget those who were killed and they (Serbs) consider that they are not guilty of that," Danijel Rehak told AFP.
For a Croatian woman whose husband was taken for questioning by Serb forces more than 20 years ago -- and never seen again -- the decision was devastating.
"I feel horrible, we all feel horrible, although in a way we were expecting such a ruling," said Manda Patko, from the eastern town of Vukovar, the scene of one of the darkest chapters of the 1990s war.
"They should try to understand how they would feel if they were in our shoes," Patko said, referring to the 17-judge panel. "How would they feel if they had to search for their loved one for 24 years?"
Earlier Tuesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed Croatia's claim that Serb forces committed genocide during the country's 1991-1995 war of independence, which claimed 20,000 lives.
- Still unaccounted for -
It issued a similar ruling on a counter-claim by Belgrade over a Croatian counter-offensive that ended the war and forced 200,000 Serbs to flee.
After Vukovar's fall, about 22,000 non-Serbs were expelled, and about 350 people from the Vukovar region are still unaccounted for.
"Mass crimes against Serbs... were part of the Croatian leaders' plan aimed at eliminating Serbs so they would disappear from areas where they lived for centuries," said Miodrag Linta of an association of Croatian Serb refugees.
Meanwhile, politicians on both sides admitted that the legal battle was lost, but they voiced hope the verdict would help maintain lasting peace in the volatile Balkans.
"We are not satisfied with the court's ruling, but we accept it in a civilised manner," Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told reporters, stressing the verdict was final.
In Belgrade, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic admitted that the tribunal's judgement "did not completely meet our expectations."
But he voiced hope that "in the future Serbia and Croatia will have the strength to jointly resolve all that is hampering the possibility of establishing a period of lasting peace and prosperity in our region."
The ties between Belgrade and Zagreb had gradually improved since the war, but they had again became frosty since 2012 after inflammatory comments from both sides.
Belgrade was also outraged in 2012 when Operation Storm's Croatian military commander, Ante Gotovina, was acquitted on appeal before a UN court.
“There is no reconciliation here,” said a former Croatian prisoner of war after a landmark ruling Tuesday that rejected rival claims of genocide by Croatia and Serbia stemming from their 1990s war.
“We have different views over the past. We (Croatians) cannot forget those who were killed and they (Serbs) consider that they are not guilty of that,” Danijel Rehak told AFP.
For a Croatian woman whose husband was taken for questioning by Serb forces more than 20 years ago — and never seen again — the decision was devastating.
“I feel horrible, we all feel horrible, although in a way we were expecting such a ruling,” said Manda Patko, from the eastern town of Vukovar, the scene of one of the darkest chapters of the 1990s war.
“They should try to understand how they would feel if they were in our shoes,” Patko said, referring to the 17-judge panel. “How would they feel if they had to search for their loved one for 24 years?”
Earlier Tuesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed Croatia’s claim that Serb forces committed genocide during the country’s 1991-1995 war of independence, which claimed 20,000 lives.
– Still unaccounted for –
It issued a similar ruling on a counter-claim by Belgrade over a Croatian counter-offensive that ended the war and forced 200,000 Serbs to flee.
After Vukovar’s fall, about 22,000 non-Serbs were expelled, and about 350 people from the Vukovar region are still unaccounted for.
“Mass crimes against Serbs… were part of the Croatian leaders’ plan aimed at eliminating Serbs so they would disappear from areas where they lived for centuries,” said Miodrag Linta of an association of Croatian Serb refugees.
Meanwhile, politicians on both sides admitted that the legal battle was lost, but they voiced hope the verdict would help maintain lasting peace in the volatile Balkans.
“We are not satisfied with the court’s ruling, but we accept it in a civilised manner,” Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic told reporters, stressing the verdict was final.
In Belgrade, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic admitted that the tribunal’s judgement “did not completely meet our expectations.”
But he voiced hope that “in the future Serbia and Croatia will have the strength to jointly resolve all that is hampering the possibility of establishing a period of lasting peace and prosperity in our region.”
The ties between Belgrade and Zagreb had gradually improved since the war, but they had again became frosty since 2012 after inflammatory comments from both sides.
Belgrade was also outraged in 2012 when Operation Storm’s Croatian military commander, Ante Gotovina, was acquitted on appeal before a UN court.
