Today (20 May 2021), the Representative Office of the Republic of Srpska in Serbia made official the cooperation between the Republic Center for Research of War, War Crimes and Search for Missing Persons and pathologist Zoran Stanković on shooting of the documentary The Witness by Denis Bojić, based on Stanković’s testimony and archival material on the horrors of war in BiH.

Stanković said that the director had decided to turn his knowledge of the war-torn areas into a documentary, which, according to him, would be based on the truth about the people who had died in BiH and about whom very little is said and, due to the passage of time, very little is known.

“As it is conceived without any emotions, with, unfortunately, the harsh truth about the people who were killed in a monstrous way just because they belonged to another nation or religion, or on a whim, I hope that the film will be shown as the victims deserve,” Stanković emphasized.

Stanković pointed out that he was obliged to tell the truth because of the people living in BiH.

The author of the film, Denis Bojić, told reporters that this was one of the most important projects of the Radio-Television of the Republic of Srpska and for the Serbian people in general, the beginning of which can be made official after lengthy preparations.

Bojić thanked Stanković for participating in the film and emphasized that the film crew was to document everything that can be documented.

“Stanković is one of the most important personalities in recent history who can testify to the scale, not only of our suffering, but also of all the atrocities and horrors in the territory of the former country,” said Bojić.

The director of the Republic Center for Research of War, War Crimes and Search for Missing Persons, Milorad Kojić, noted the relevance of shooting this film for nurturing the culture of remembrance and thanked Stanković and Bojić for their engagement.

“The testimony held by Stanković is so significant and valuable that we will leave a trace through this film and in that way work on nurturing the culture of remembrance and memory,” said Kojić.

He noted that, unfortunately, judicial institutions had failed to respond adequately to all crimes committed against the Serbian people.

The film The Witness, to be co-produced by the Radio-Television of the Republic of Srpska and the Republic Center for Research of War, War Crimes and Search for Missing Persons, will be based on Stanković’s documentation and testimonies of his stay in BiH during the war.

Stanković’s biography and world-class authority position him as one of the most important chroniclers of the war.

Having worked on more than 50 mass graves and several thousand autopsies of victims, Stanković is a person who can factually talk about the scale of suffering and the horrors of the war, announced the Republic of Srpska Representation in Serbia earlier. Today, the head of the Representation, Mlađen Cicović, spoke with Kojić, Stanković and Bojić about the support that the Representation can provide to RTRS and the Republic Center for Research of War, War Crimes and Search for Missing Persons in the shooting of the documentary The Witness.

Source and photo: Republic of Srpska Representative Office in Serbia