It has been 34 years since the event when, while passing through Dobrovoljačka Street, a convoy of Yugoslav People’s Army soldiers was attacked, leaving Sarajevo, according to an agreement on withdrawal, in exchange for the release of the then President of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović.
The authorities of Republika Srpska state that at least 28 members of the JNA were killed in the clashes on 2 and 3 May. The RS Government organized a wreath-laying ceremony and candle-lighting ceremony today, as in previous years.
A memorial service was held this morning at the Church of the Holy Great Martyr in Istočno Novo Sarajevo.
On that day, according to the testimony of Milutin Kukanjac, then commander of the Second Military District of the JNA, six people were killed in Dobrovoljačka Street, while a total of 261 JNA members were in the convoy. The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has information on eight fatalities.
The day before, on May 2, 1992, JNA units attempted to seize the building of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but failed.
The departure of the JNA column from Sarajevo was agreed upon in exchange for the release of the President of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, who was captured by JNA members at Sarajevo Airport on May 2 while returning from peace negotiations in Lisbon.
A convoy of JNA vehicles, escorted by UNPROFOR units, set off on May 3 from the command of the Second Military District in Bistrik towards Lukavica, but was stopped at Drvenija, on Dobrovoljačka, today Hamdije Kreševljakovića Street.
The Hague Tribunal established in the “Dobrovoljačka” case that the JNA column was a legitimate military target.
In 2022, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed an indictment against ten individuals in this case, on suspicion of committing war crimes against members of the JNA. The collected evidence, the Prosecutor’s Office stated, relates to the deaths of eight persons with established identities and the wounding of 24 persons.
The indictment was filed ten years after the same Prosecutor’s Office suspended the investigation into the case.
Members of the “Green Berets” on Drvenija in Sarajevo paid tribute to the fallen fighters defending the city and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the occasion of the events of May 3, 1992.
It was reported that the attacks of the JNA at that time, together with Serbian and paramilitary formations, had terrorized Sarajevo for months earlier.
Members of the association pointed out that they had come to preserve the memory of the victims and emphasized that they wanted peace, but also that the past must not be forgotten.
They also criticized, as they stated, the different interpretations and manipulations of the number of victims in Dobrovoljačka Street, BHRT writes.
