Dear Ms. Frenkel, dear Justice Minister, dear Dr. Zuroff, ladies and gentlemen,

Today we have turned a new page in the history of our judicial institutions, which have already earned significant credibility. At this point, as a truly democratic and civilised state, Serbia is more determined than ever to cope with the crimes committed in the 1940s.

Mr. Efraim Zuroff, the Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, has met with the War Crimes Prosecutor’s team today in order to exchange information and discuss evidence relating to some major cases of war crimes and genocide committed in World War II. Initially proposed by the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office, The Serbian Ministry of Justice took the initiative in organising our today’s meeting. The working session of the meeting, whose first part has just been completed, is continuing after this conference.

The request for investigation into the Peter Egner case, as well as pre-trial proceedings being underway in the Ašner and Kepiro cases, should be understood as our clear message that every crime will be investigated and, if there is valid evidence, duly prosecuted. This is our legal obligation, but also and above all, our moral debt to victims and their descendents.

Let me also point out that we greatly appreciate the understanding that the officials of the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade have shown regarding the Peter Egner case. In that context, it is particularly important to mention the role of the U.S. Special Investigations Unit, whose representatives are visiting our Office later this month. Furthermore, I would like to remind you of the efforts taken by the U.S. authorities concerning the ongoing process of Peter Egner’s denaturalization, a basic step that will enable us to establish the full truth about the crimes which are the subject of our current investigation.

Unfortunately, the atrocities of World War II do not seem to have made us much wiser. Once again, since the year 2000, monstruous war crimes and mass crimes trials have been conducted before our War Crimes Chambers.

Apart from their ethical and legal dimensions, these proceedings are meant to warn and prevent similar events in the future. No statute of limitations applies to war crimes. This is the crucial message to the younger generation, whom I do not wish ever again to be burdened with the past, save to the extent that will allow the memory of evil to live on in the collective mind.

In conclusion, I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. Zuroff, whose comittment to international justice we genuinely admire, as well as his continuing efforts to track down the surviving Nazi criminals. As a responsible institution, the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office will give full support to his noble mission at all times.

Dear Dr. Zuroff, let me assure you that here, in Serbia, you have friends who are dedicated to the same values as you are.

The speech delivered by Ms. Snežana Malović, the Serbian Minister of Justice, at the press conference held during the visit of Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Director of the Israeli Wiesenthal Center, to the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office

It is my great honour to talk to you today, when Mr. Zuroff and Mr. Vukčević have just sent what sounds to me as an unequivocal message to the world: THERE IS NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR WAR CRIMES. By opening the cases of Egner, Ašner and Kepiro, our judicial institutions have clearly demonstrated Serbia's commitment to universal and legal values.

We are living at the time of great challenges, when a choice has to be made between two alternatives: the harbouring of false values and crime embodied in the gravest breaches of humanitarian law, or doing away with the dark past and stepping towards a European future, down the path paved by a wise policy that will earn Serbia friends in the east and in the west, and that will offer better prospects to its citizens. The Serbian Govermnment has chosen the latter alternative, aware that we shall be closer to our goals with professional war crimes trials in which criminal responsibility will be individualized and victims respected regardless of their ethnic backgrounds.

We must not forget a single victim, irrespective of whether they perished during the wars recently fought in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, or in World War II. Unfortunately, the destruction of others, simply because of their different backgrounds, has occurred all too frequently throughout the history of mankind. In the 1930s, the Nazi regime exterminated Jews and other ethnic groups purely because they were different; once again, history repeated itself in the 1990s, with hordes of volunteers and other armed units – with various insignia on their lapels – raging across Bosnia and Croatia.

World War II was ended 30 years before I was born. Yet, being a citizen of Serbia and of the world, I want my country to spare no effort in having the crimes committed against members of the Jewish and other nations in WWII duly punished. I do not want Serbia ever to forget our Jewish friends and fellow citizens who were killed and brutalized in concentration camps. Serbia has remained greatly handicapped by the loss of those outstanding people, people of business, wisdom, tradition and knowledge, who were forced to leave under the Nazi pressures. My message is therefore loud and clear: Serbia has an obligation to ensure that their descendents in Serbia, U.S.A., Israel and elsewhere learn the truth about the Old Fairground and Banjica camps, about mass deportations to camps outside Serbia...

Therefore, with full respect for all legal rules and principles – presumption of innocence, judicial independence, right to a fair trial, etc. – as a citizen of Serbia I expect this issue to be adequately addressed by our courts.

As the Justice Minister, however, I promise to the victims' descendents that I shall do my best in order to have Egner, Kepiro and Ašner brought to justice, and enable our judicial authorities to determine the extent of their responsibility for the deaths of innocent people in the 1940s.