Coordination Council of the Coalition for RECOM kindly requested that, in accordance with the Print Media Codex and the Radio and TV Editing Codex, a reaction of the Coordination Council of the Coalition for RECOM is published with respect to texts and reports published last week in the following media: Daily Avaz – Sarajevo, Fokus – Banja Luka, RT RS – Banja Luka, and TV BN – Bijeljina. 

According to the statement of the Coordination Council, It is quite untrue that there has been an interruption of the consultation process on the establishment of a Regional Commission for establishing the facts about the victims of the wars waged on the territory of the former Yugoslavia (RECOM) initiated in 2006.

Also, allegations that the entire process has been “privatized” are also absolutely false, it is said in the public statement of Coordination Council. 

“All activities of the Coalition for RECOM are public and transparent. Each and every document of the Coalition for RECOM (the Statute, the list of members of the Coalition, the Operation Plan, the Narrative Report, and the Financial Report) are public documents and they can be viewed at the Coalition for RECOM’s official website: www.korekom.org”, states the Council in their public release.

The Initiative for RECOM is an irreversible process in which more than 4,000 representatives of associations of victims and other human rights organizations from the region of the former Yugoslavia took place. At this moment, the Coalition for RECOM consists of 750 non-governmental organizations, victims’ associations, and individuals from the entire region of the former Yugoslavia, 173 of which are from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This is by far the most comprehensive and the most transparent public debate ever organized on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, which cannot be privatized or stopped by any individual, organization, or a political party. The General Assembly of RECOM held in Novi Sad on March 19, 2010 was attended by 110 out of 112 invited delegates representing various members of the Coalition.

The Sixth Regional Forum for Transitional Justice organized on March 20 and 21, 2010 in Novi Sad, was attended by 322 representatives of civil society groups from all post-Yugoslav countries. So far, only three organizations left the Coalition for RECOM: the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Izvor – Association of Women from Prijedor, and Buka – Media Project from Banja Luka.