For a long time, we have witnessed historical revisionism, which interprets history in accordance with contemporary political goals. At the end of the 1980s, the revisionism of the Second World War was in full swing, and lately, especially in Serbia and Republika Srpska, there have been strong revisionist waves about the wars of the 1990s. The latest wave of historical revisionism in the RS concerns the attempt to present the children killed during the siege of Sarajevo, by shelling or sniping from the occupied parts of the city by the RS Army, as victims of the ARBiH. After the scandal from Prijedor, when during the commemoration of the "Storm" a photograph of a Bosniak exile from Žepa was presented as a Serbian victim of the "Storm" in Croatia, now it is the turn of falsifications about children killed in Sarajevo during the siege. "According to the data of the Republic Center for the Research of War and War Victims [Rs] in the municipalities of Srpski Sarajevo, 106 children died during the war," said the Center. Many portals have already written about the latest scandal, family members of the murdered children reacted, some describe how their family members were killed during the shelling of the besieged city and announce lawsuits for falsifying history.
We support a detailed investigation into the murdered children, but falsification of history is unacceptable. Dr. Zilha Mastalić Košuta, senior research associate from the Institute for the Research of Crimes against Humanity, University of Sarajevo, researched the topic of killing children in besieged Sarajevo, and writes for our portal about earlier manipulations of the number of Serbs killed in besieged Sarajevo.
Written by: Dr. ZILHA MASTALIĆ KOŠUTA
ERRORS WITH THE DATA OF KILLED CHILDREN
The Republican Center for Research on War and War Crimes in Republika Srpska compiled a list containing the names of 106 children who died with basic identification data. RTRS Television used that list for media purposes. They announced that these data were planned to be placed on the monument that is being built in East Sarajevo, and which is dedicated to the "killed Serbian children". The children from the mentioned list were said to have been killed in Sarajevo, but with the connotation that they were killed by shelling and sniping by members of the ARBiH. By looking at part of the list, it is clear that the list contains data with the identities of children who do not belong to the said list. Most of these children were killed by the Sarajevo Romanijsko Korkup (SRK) of the Army of the Republic of Serbia (VRS).
The girl Mirjana (Duško, Olgica) Malešević is also in this and other similar lists. Mirjana was killed by a grenade on February 27, 1993, fired by the SRK VRS at Dobrinja II. Together with her, her friend Samir Poljo, who was trying to save her, was killed. The boy Damir (Dragan, Senada) Dodik was killed by a sniper on June 25, 1995, on the street near the Health Center in Vrazova street, Centar municipality. He was on a bicycle and headed towards Ciglani. The bullet hit him near the heart.
Four-year-old Darijan (Miodrag, Jasmina) Jovanović was killed by a grenade on June 13, 1993, in his house at 116 Palmira Toljatija street, Novi Grad Sarajevo municipality. He was buried at the Lav cemetery in Sarajevo.
Danijel (Ivo, Anđa) Kovačević is also on the list of killed "Serbian children". The boy Danijel committed suicide by hanging himself in Maka Dizdara Street, Novi Grad Municipality. His mother Anđa says that her son Danijel could never mourn the death of his father Ivo, who was killed by a grenade in Sarajevo in 1993. He was buried at the St. Joseph cemetery.
Five-year-old Magdalena (Božo, Hena) Đorem was killed by a grenade on July 6, 1995, while she was playing on the basketball court, on Independence Square, Novi Grad Sarajevo. Five civilians were killed from the two shells that were fired one after the other by the SRK, one of whom was another child Ahmović (Miralem, Radojka) Elvir. Both the father and mother of the Magdalenes were then killed.
In addition to these examples, there are other examples, such as the boy Marko Lukić, who was killed on July 26, 1995, by a shell fired from the position of the SRK VRS, in the Sarajevo neighborhood of Mejtaš. Then Slađana Perišić, who is mentioned in other lists with the same purpose. Slađana was killed by a grenade on July 13, 1992 in Nedžarići, next to the PTT, when her boyfriend Elmir Kurtović, who tried to protect her, was killed along with her.
The girl Maja (Branko, Melita) Đokić was killed by a grenade fired by the Sarajevo-Romanian Corps of the VRS. She was killed on April 9, 1995 in Titova Street, Centar Municipality (in front of the former "Sarajka" Department Store) together with Munevera Selimović (1937), and ten civilians were slightly and seriously wounded.
EARLY LISTS AND DATA MANIPULATIONS
It should be pointed out that even in the earlier lists, untruths were often stated. In Marko Mikerević's book entitled "Sarajevo's condemned to death" a list was published with a total of 894 registered persons, as the author stated, "killed and missing Serbs in Sarajevo". By analyzing that list, it was established that there are more than 655 wrong and incorrect data on the list according to various characteristics. On the list, 407 people died, were killed or disappeared in other places, not as shown in Sarajevo by "Muslim formations", "Caco and Caco's criminals", "green berets" etce. There are also nine people killed or missing in the area that at the time of the crime was under the control of the VRS, and they were listed as having been killed in the part held by the ARBiH, by "Muslim formations". Then, 21 people are considered to have been killed, and the analysis proved that they are living people for whom there are addresses and contact numbers. Then, 83 persons in the list are repeated twice, 11 persons are repeated three times, one person is repeated four times; etc. The list also includes Croats, registered as Serbs, then those who died on the battlefields with the HVO or by the HVO, and others. Then, the names are deliberately repeated two or more times in the list, in order to indicate a higher number of victims than there is. By the way, the author did not compile his list in alphabetical or alphabetical order, so that the listed inaccuracies would be more difficult to spot.
It did not state that many of the deaths of the people on the list were those killed and killed by fire by the VRS, which had besieged the city for nearly four years.
Below are some of the names of people falsely represented in earlier lists that also show "Serbs killed or missing in Sarajevo" killed by "Muslim formations". It is a list of the non-governmental organization "ISTINA" - Association for Researching the Suffering of Serbian and Other Peoples in Sarajevo in the period 1992-1995. under the title "Killed and missing Serbian civilians in the period from April 1992 to the end of 1995 in the area of Sarajevo". However, these persons were not killed and disappeared in the area of Sarajevo. Most of them were also soldiers, and in the lists they were also shown as minors.
Golubović (Neđo) Vaso (1974 from Blace near Konjic) is mentioned in the so-called list "Truth" that he was taken on June 18, 1992 from his apartment in ul. Tešanjska towards the "Sutjeska" cinema, where he is lost. However, in the ICRC database under the register. no. BAZ-107770/06 says that he disappeared in the village of Bjelimići near Konjic.
Sandić (Mika) Srbobran is stated to have been born in 1975. and was taken on September 1, 1992 from the apartment in ul. Shenoin to the Court building where he is lost. However, based on the ICRC and no. BAS-001429/01 states that Srbobran was born in 1910 and has nothing to do with Sarajevo. He disappeared in the village of Rastošnica near Zvornik, where he was born.
Čolić (Milorad) Dragiša, born in 1975 according to the "Truth" list, was taken on October 10, 1992 from his apartment in Ciglane in the direction of Kobilja Glava, where he was lost. However, based on the ICRC and no. BAZ-107374/01 states that Dragiša was a soldier of the 1st Sarajevo Infantry Brigade of the VRS and was visiting his aunt in Banja Luka until October 10, 1995. He started from there towards Lukavica, but his trail was lost. From what has been presented, it can be seen that Dragiša was not 17 years old as stated in "Truth" for 23 years.
Ivanović Borislav, according to "Truth", was born in 1976 and was taken from his apartment in Vrazova Street to the looted warehouse of the Military Hospital on September 15, 1992 and disappeared. On this list, Borislav is mentioned (repeated) twice with the only difference being that this time he was taken from his apartment on Višnjik. However, according to the ICRC database and other sources, and under no. BAS-001133/01 states that Borislav was born in 1948 in Bročice, Novska municipality, and that he disappeared in April 1992 in Bosanka Dubica. Borislav was not 16 years old, as in "Truth", but 44 years old.
Martić (Milutin) Željko (1976) was taken according to "Truth" on 13 June 1992. from his apartment in Skenderija Street - Podgaj towards Bistrik. According to the ICRC database and other sources, it stands under no. BAZ-965349/01 that 13 September 1995 disappeared in Skender Vakuf. He was 23, not 16. Janković (Milan) Predrag (1976) was taken according to Mikerević's list on 13.6.1992. from the apartment in Breka and disappeared in the direction of the "Koševo" stadium. According to the ICRC and no. BAZ-106258/01 was a soldier of the VRS. He disappeared on August 5, 1995, during the withdrawal of his unit from Bosanska Gradiska. And he was 19, not 16.
Unfortunately, there are still a significant number of such and similar examples. In order to reduce attention to the crimes committed by the forces of the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) in Sarajevo and other places in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period 1992-1995. as well as with the aim of relativizing and denying the committed crimes, in recent years, governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals from the Republic of Srpska, through public means of information and publications, have published lists, information, and data in which numerous errors and inaccuracies can be observed, such as and falsification and manipulation of historical and judicial facts established so far, which favor the quasi-scientific truth and not the real truth.
10.08.2023
Source: Historiografija.ba