In our city, 25 years ago, a total of 102 children were killed. They were killed because their existence stood in the way of the ideology of separation of peoples and ethnically pure country where there was no place for those who were not Serbs,” stated activists of the Initiative “Jer me se tice (Because I care)” from Prijedor.
These are the facts, and it is also the fact that the city authorities do not allow families of murdered children to make a monument in the city center with the aim of paying tribute to that children.
“Our fellow citizens, citizens of Prijedor, especially young people, should not take the burden of crimes that were committed by some older fellow citizens, not even in the case that those are fathers and grandfathers of some of them. The current government is putting that burden on them and they will do that to their descendants as well,” stated activists.
They added that Prijedor recorded some difficult periods in its history, in which citizens of Prijedor have suffered a lot. They were persecuted and killed because of their identity or beliefs.
“This is not a question of politics. Monument to children that were killed in Prijedor is not “Bosniak question”, nor a question of nationalism. This is a question of humanity and ending this paralysis in which the city is choking ever since the war, and it is a question of what kind of Prijedor we want to live in. If Prijedor is your city, then the White Ribbons Day is your fight. Join us”, as stated in the invitation to citizens from the Initiative “Jer me se tice (Because I care)”.
After the violent takeover of power in Prijedor, on the 31stof May 1992, non-Serb population in the municipality were ordered in the media to display white armbands and white sheets on their houses. This invitation was an introduction to crimes that took place afterward. Years later, in BiH, as well as a number of European cities is marked the White Armbands Day, symbolic date in memory of the murdered residents of the area of Prijedor.
The propaganda campaign that was carried out by pro-Serbian media at the beginning of the war in Prijedor helped to polarization of the population of the municipality on an ethnic basis, created an atmosphere of fear, but also laid foundations to specific crimes and inhumane actions.
On the night before the 28th of May, on Radio Prijedor was broadcasted the show called “Open talks on the security situation in the municipality of Prijedor”, with the main topic – whether there will be a war in Prijedor. Host of the show was the chief editor of Radio Prijedor, Muharem Nezirovic. His guests were the presidents of the main parties in the municipality: SDS, SDA and HDZ. At the end of the show they sent the message that there should not be war in Prijedor.
However, the next day, Serbian forces took control over all municipal institutions, and all the legally elected representatives were dismissed, and the President of the Municipality Muhamed Cehajic was literally driven away in front of the building. On Radio Prijedor was announced:
“Dear citizens, in order to protect the Serbian people, the Crisis Staff of the newly formed Republika Srpska was formed and we invite you to be loyal to the Serbian authorities in the municipality of Prijedor, which provides full security for life.”
On the 31st of May 1992, Radio Prijedor invited all Muslims and Croats to mark their homes with white flags or sheets, and when moving in public places to wear sleeves with white ribbons in the loyalty and trust to the Serbian authorities.
Unfortunately, instead of calling for the protection and safety, the aim was to find out who is who and where he lives. As a result, there were large shootings, mass killings, plundering…
Later on, the propaganda of Radio Prijedor and Kozarski Vjesnik was reflected in the fact that the leaders of the SDA in Prijedor and other prominent non-Serbs were qualified as criminals and extremists who should be punished for their behavior.
Even then was known: whoever was called in Kozarski Vjesnik and Radio Prijedor in 1992 – was killed.
According to official information from the associations of victims, in Prijedor was killed a total of 3,173 civilians, while 31,000 people were detained in the camps around Prijedor. From late May to late August 1992, 102 children and 256 women were killed in Prijedor. The largest number of those killed, namely 842, were found in mass graves Tomasica and Jakarina kosa.
At the session of the Assembly of Prijedor, the construction of a monument for the children killed in the past war was discussed, and the initiative goes in the direction of building a monument for all the children killed, in all previous wars. Such an idea would significantly diminish the memory of the crime against Bosniak children killed in the period 1992-1995.
The parents of the killed children in Prijedor have been insisting for years on the construction of a monument on the city land. The international community, which understands the importance of the culture of remembrance and the correct addressing of crimes, also helps them significantly in this, but the consensus of the Assembly of Prijedor is also needed for the construction.
At the last session held on Tuesday, May 25th, a kind of free discussion was held on further steps for the construction of the monument. As the chairman of the City Assembly, Mirsad Duratovic, points out, no official agreement has been reached, but the idea does exist.
However, the idea is to build a monument to all the killed children from the First and Second World Wars, and the past war. Duratovic offered SNSD’s Sasa Bursac a blank signature on such a monument, which would contain thousands of names in which the names of 102 killed children from the past war could easily be drowned.
He points out that the parents of the killed children agree with this idea of building a monument, but some believe that it is only Duratovic’s way of trading with the SNSD in order to remain in the position he is in now.
Human rights activist from Prijedor Edin Ramulic believes that such an initiative for construction and Duratovic’s move is unacceptable and scandalous.
”The role of Mirsad Duratovic is the most controversial here. He pledged everything, all his credibility, in order to make a consession to his coalition partners from the SNSD, who keep him in the office. They chose him and they have control over him. He refuses to meet with a representative of the parents, talk about it, and, refuses to put on the session the necessary steps for construction,”Ramulic stated.
In an interview, Duratovic said that he had written confirmation from the representative of the parent of the murdered children, Fikret Bacic, that a joint monument is exactly what the parents of the murdered children want.
Playing with numbers instead of preserving the memory of murdered children
The idea of building a joint monument is controversial for several reasons. It seems that such an initiative is only a compensation for what the families of the victims and the international community insist on, and if implemented, it could permanently damage the character of what happened in Prijedor from 1992 to 1995.
”In order to reduce the pressure of the international community, they agreed to do it this way, but that idea is unacceptable,”Ramulic emphasized.
He explains that the plan of the SNSD councilor in Prijedor is to have tens of thousands of names on the monument in which the number of 102 Bosniak children would ‘drown’ and diminish the significance of their suffering.
”Although the number of children killed in the Second World War in this area is less than 1.000, Sasa Bursac states that it is tens of thousands. So it is planned to include all those victims from other countries and areas. These are the numbers for Jasenovac and the like. The basic idea is to show in the numbers game that there are only 102 children from Prijedor alone in relation to the 30.000 total casualties as planned on the monument,”Ramulic added.
He especially emphasizes the segment in which it is very unrealistic to build a monument of 30.000 names in the area of the city center, where the memorial is planned.
”It is clear here that the intention is to obstruct the construction. Firstly, it takes many years to collect these names. Secondly, even if that happened, it is impossible to put 30.000 names in that area. This requires a huge amount of space to put all the names,” Ramulic said.
In addition to this idea, the SNSD has another proposal for the construction of a monument, and that is a joint monument to all the children killed without listing their names. Something like this would be easier to implement, but the meaning of the project would be completely lost.
”That would be a practical solution – to erect a monument to all the children in all wars, without names, but this would avoid the request of parents to have their children’s names written in the city,” Ramulic concluded, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.