On the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BIRN BiH, a new documentary explores the pursuit of justice in Ukraine, where war is still ongoing, and in Bosnia, three decades since war ended there.
Pravda&Pravda, whose title combines the word justice in Bosnian and truth in Ukrainian, follows the experiences of three Ukrainian peacekeepers who were in Bosnia during the wear there in the 1990s – and are now back in Ukraine, in uniform.
The film can be seen on BIRN BiH YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbRuqYneEZo.
Thirty years ago, the three Ukrainians were part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Bosnia; they did not expect they would have to don uniforms again in their own country.
After the 1992-5 war ended in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they testified before the Hague war crimes tribunal about their experiences in securing President Alija Izetbegovic’s convoy in Sarajevo and about coming face-to-face with Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic in Zepa later on.
When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, they had to go to the front line once again.
In the documentary, authored by Denis Dzidic, they talk about how they perceive justice. The film features a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Chief State Prosecutor for War Crimes in Ukraine, employees of the War Childhood Museums in Sarajevo and Kyiv, as well as other lawyers with experience of transitional justice processes in Bosnia and now Ukraine.
Detektor will release the film on BIRN BiH’s 20th anniversary.
Detektor journalists Nino Bilajac and Enes Hodzic shot the film with Dzidic during their stay in Ukraine in the summer of 2024.
The film editor is Mirza Mokrovic, the music was done by Adnan Musanovic, the cameramen were Serhii Klymenko and Sergii Rozov in Ukraine, and Mirza Mrso and Anes Asotic in Bosnia.
The making of the film was supported by the Belgian foreign ministry.
As part of this project, BIRN BiH has also published a subpage https://tranzicijskapravda.detektor.ba/en/ containing an overview of the most significant successes and failures in transitional justice processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with lessons that Ukraine can draw from them.