With a holy liturgy in the restored Church of the Ascension and the laying of wreaths on the memorial, 31 years have been marked in Bradina since the destruction and burning of this and the surrounding villages, in which 48 Serbian civilians were killed.
The holy liturgy in the Church of the Ascension of the Lord is served by the local clergy, after which a memorial service was held and wreaths were laid on the memorial to the victims.
“Even 31 years after the crime against the Serbs in Bradina, the international and domestic judicial institutions did not recognize its scale,” said Miroslav Ljubojević, head of the Department for Commemoration, Culture of Remembrance and Remembrance of the Republican Center for Research on War, War Crimes and the Search for Missing Persons of Republika Srpska.
Ljubojević said that the victims’ families do not believe that justice will ever be served.
“After so many years, I don’t know if we can talk about any justice being served,” said Ljubojević.
Bradina was attacked on May 25, 1992, where 48 Serbian civilians were killed, while the rest were taken to camps or expelled, their property was looted, and houses and the Church of the Ascension were burned and demolished. Next to the church, in the place where the memorial is now, there was a mass grave.
Another 22 residents of Bradina were killed in the Musale and Čelebići camps.
Three members of the BiH Army and HVO, Esad Landžo, Zdravko Mucić and Hazim Delić, were convicted before the Hague Tribunal for crimes against the Serbian population in the Konjic area. Trials against 13 persons before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina are still ongoing.
