Reactions to the statement of the Minister of Culture and Sports Sanja Vlaisavljević do not stop. While the newly elected minister expresses the position "that war criminals should be rehabilitated", the survivors in Visegrad are preparing to mark another anniversary of the brutal murder of their members. Murders, burning people alive and torture are permanently etched in the memory of all Bosniaks who witnessed the massacre in Višegrad 31 years ago.
Asst. Ph.D. Ermin Kuka, senior research associate of the Institute for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law of the University of Sarajevo, in an interview with Preporod.info, referred to the suffering of Bosniaks and today's policy of "washing" criminals of their crimes.
- On Saturday, June 3, 2023, in Višegrad, organized by the Association "Woman - Victim of War", the Association of Families of the Missing "Višegrad 92" and the Majlis of the Islamic Community (MIZ) Višegrad, 31 years will be marked since the horrific crimes against humanity and international rights committed against the Bosniaks of Višegrad. On that day, once again, we will remember all the innocent Bosniaks of Višegrad who were killed on genocidal grounds. They were killed exclusively and only because they were Muslims, Bosniaks. The criminals deliberately killed the Bosniaks of Višegrad, because that was the only way to create an ethnically clean Serbian space in a city that was a multi-ethnic city before the aggression - said Kuka.
As he points out, the monstrous and incomprehensible crimes committed by Serbian forces against the Bosniaks of Višegrad represented the height of hatred and evil intent to kill, slaughter and persecute.
- Mass and individual crimes of killing, burning civilians alive at the stake, imprisonment in camps and other places of illegal detention, rape of Bosniak women and girls, torture, torture and persecution committed from 1992 to 1995, represented the continuity of the pattern of crimes committed against Bosniaks during the Second World War. In this sense, the crimes committed by the Serbian armed formations against the Bosniaks of Višegrad are characterized by planning, preparation and the precise organization of the execution in detail, which proves the existence of both elements of the crime of genocide: intent (mens rea) and the act of genocide (actus reus). The radical change in the pre-war ethnic structure of the population is a consequence of the crimes committed, including the genocide against the Bosniaks of Višegrad - said Kuka.
To date, 19 criminals have been convicted of crimes committed against Bosniaks in the Višegrad area during the period of aggression. Of that number, three were convicted at the Hague Tribunal. A total of 246 years of imprisonment, and one life sentence, was handed down to the criminal Milan Lukić.
- Bearing in mind the scale and forms of the crimes committed, it is clear that all the perpetrators of those crimes were not brought to justice and were not held accountable for that. We should not forget the fact that some of them died of natural causes in the years after the aggression, and that indictments were never brought, although there was and still is solid evidence of their participation in the commission of crimes in Visegrad. Also, some of them are still freely moving around the city where they committed crimes without being held accountable, and the question is whether they will be held accountable at all - said Kuka.
Referring to the views of certain government representatives, such as the statements of the FBiH Minister of Culture and Sports, Sanja Vlaisavljević, who said that "criminals should be rehabilitated", Kuka unequivocally said that "crime does not become obsolete".
- We know that crime does not have a statute of limitations, but the perpetrators of crimes grow old and die without waiting to be prosecuted. It is another painful point for all the surviving victims of Višegrad. 31 years have passed, and not all the perpetrators of the crime have been brought to justice, nor have the remains of all the innocently murdered Bosniak victims been found. To this day, the remains of Bosniak civilians who were burned alive at the pyres in Pionirska Street (June 14, 1992) and Bikavac (June 27, 1992) have not been found, nor have they been found, as well as many others who were brutally slaughtered and killed. The youngest victim of those bonfires was a baby only two days old. The shameful vow of silence of the Serb neighbors, who do not want to reveal information, which I'm sure they know very well, is still going on. And while we are witnessing the prosecution of former members of the RBiH Army, on the other hand, former members of the Serbian and aggressor armed forces who killed the Bosniaks of Višegrad move freely and remain shamefully silent. They have indisputable protection and security provided by the local Serbian authorities - says Kuka.
As he warned, what we have on the scene today is that Visegrad has become a suitable place for rehabilitation and boasting of criminals as heroes.
- They are considered heroes and saviors of Serbia, to the extent that they are mythologized. Murals are drawn in their honor all over Visegrad. There is almost no street in Višegrad without murals dedicated to the crimes of Ratko Mladić and Vojislav Šešelj, as well as symbols of Russian volunteers and mercenaries. All this, the local authorities in Visegrad approve, whether through public support or their silence - Kuka points out.
He states that due to such a situation and atmosphere, the already small number of Bosniak returnees is on the margins of the community.
- Many of their basic human rights are threatened, and they are often the target of intimidation, robbery, and even physical attacks. Let's just remember the attack on old men Fadila and Ajša Memišević, returnees to the town of Omeragići. Not only have the perpetrators never been brought to justice, but over time they try to talk about it as little as possible in Visegrad. Even the local authorities in Visegrad ask individual representatives of the Bosniaks of Visegrad to take positions on these matters that circumvent the truth and deny the actual situation. And the truth is that these harassments, robberies and attacks are primarily motivated by ethnic characteristics and religious affiliation - says Kuka.
It is up to the surviving victims, he says, to fight for the truth and clearly present to the public all the dimensions and features of the Serbian crimes committed against Bosniaks in Visegrad.
- In this sense, we write and promote scientific books and studies, based on relevant documentary material, in order to offer relevant and true information and data to the domestic, but especially foreign, public. Here I will mention only a few: "Genocide against Bosniaks in Visegrad 1992-1995", "Live bonfire - Pioneer Street in Visegrad (June 14, 1992)", "Live bonfire - Bikavac in Visegrad (June 27, 1992)". It is just one of the ways of our fight against the increasingly intense narrative about how everyone is guilty of the conflict and everyone committed crimes equally. Such a narrative should be deconstructed precisely with the truth, which is on our side - said Kuka.
(A.N. / Preporod.info)