Osijek, 2 May 2012
Klara Dokmanović of the ICTY Zagreb office today delivered a presentation on the work of the Tribunal to around 25 students from the Osijek 1st Gymnasium in eastern Croatia. Osijek and its surrounding areas were the scene of fierce fighting during the war.
Even though the teachers had warned Klara that the students did not know a lot about the crimes committed during the war in Croatia or elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia, the young people were nevertheless keen to engage in the discussion following the presentation, and showed a good deal of interest in the functioning of the ICTY.
A teacher who attended the presentation suggested that the interest of the students had perhaps been piqued by their recent visit to the Ovčara Memorial Centre, dedicated to the non-Serb victims executed following the fall of Vukovar to Serb military forces.
Following a presentation on the ICTY cases dealing with crimes committed in the Osijek region, and on the institution’s wider achievements, the students were interested to learn about sentencing practices and how judges are appointed.
Professor Ella Rakovac commented: “I think the presentation was interesting and useful for our students, especially since they do not learn about the issues covered by the presentation at school. The only knowledge they have about this topic is based on what they hear about the war from their families.”