On this day 32 years ago, missiles from the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) demolished the Old Bridge in Mostar, a symbol of the city on the Neretva and a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture from the 16th century, built according to the designs of architect Mimar Hajrudin, which represents one of the most significant examples of the rich cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The demolition of the Old Bridge in Mostar on November 9, 1993 was news that shocked the world public, and even after 32 years in the city on the Neretva, it is a topic that opens old wounds and awakens painful memories.
At exactly 10:16 a.m., a jump was performed from the Old Bridge without applause, accompanied by the sound of sirens as a warning symbol from the past war.
Every year at the same time, members of the “Mostari” diving club traditionally mark the moment of the demolition of the Old Bridge, which was demolished after several days of shelling from the position of the Croatian Defense Council.
“I also remembered that sad, unhappy and difficult year in 1993, when on November 9 at 10:16 we were all speechless and were aware that, at least I at the age of 16, that at that moment everything that made Mostar Mostar actually disappeared,” said Maja Burić.
The then HVO commander Slobodan Praljak was accused of the demolition of the Old Bridge before the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, and the demolition of the Old Bridge was included in the Hague indictment against the Six military and political leaders of the then Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosnia, but the court in The Hague concluded that the demolition of the Bridge was a legitimate military objective.
“It is important that we are here today to mark with a jump without applause, that is, with silence and sadness, today – the day when the Most fell into the Neretva river. When, in a way, it was deleted from this very large list of UNESCO heritage and of course it was a sad day for Mostar, for Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the world. Of course, it is a lesson that this kind of culturocide should never happen again to anyone,” said Džafer Alić, president of the Assembly of the National People’s Congress.
In July 2005, at a meeting in the Republic of South Africa, the Old Bridge on the Neretva was included in the list of protected monuments of UNESCO, as a monument of culture and reconciliation.
