The Serb National Council marks a grim anniversary of the murder of the entire Cengic family, father Drago, mother Nevenka and their two underage children: Slobodan (11) and Goran (4), on January 18 1992 in the hamlet Sasici near Ervenik, committed by the members of the Serbian paramilitary unit “Krajina. The Cengic family house was burnt to the ground, as were all the other houses pertaining to Croats in Ervenik. The mentioned paramilitary unit terrorized non-Serbian population in Ervenik for some time, looting and setting fire to houses with the aim of banishing them from the area for good.
The perpetrators of this crime were put to trial in absence and eight of the defendants were convicted. The Croatian Ministry of Justice manged to reach only the second-accused Damir Travica, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison once he was extradited by Great Britain on November 11 2008. All other convicted perpetrators remain at large which in the context of this concrete war crime is a de facto amnesty of those who committed it.
Once again the Serb National Council appeals to relevant bodies in the police and the State’s Attorney Office of the Republic of Croatia to take all necessary action to bring all convicted war criminals to justice and invites regional cooperation, especially in cases were the whereabouts of the convicted perpetrators of war crimes or war crime suspects are available.