In Stari Brod near Višegrad today, 84 years have been marked since the crime against more than 6,000 Serbs of the Sarajevo-Romania region, who were killed by the Ustasha in 1942.
The memorial service at the memorial to the victims was served by His Eminence, Metropolitan Hrizost of Dabrobosna, accompanied by the clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church. After the memorial service, wreaths and roses were lowered into the Drina river.
Metropolitan Hrizostom of Dabrobosna said in his address after mentioning the victims that today they are here to celebrate them as the new martyrs of Drina, who have not yet been officially canonized because they deserved to be counted among the saints by their sacrifice.
“There will surely come a time when we will celebrate them in a different way. Not to mourn, but to celebrate those who, through their sacrifice and martyrdom, have just deserved to be considered saints,” said Metropolitan Chrysostom.
He also stated that “they died in this place at the hands of the enemy while they were fleeing to the freedom they never reached”.
The Mayor of Višegrad Mladen Đurević pointed out that Stari Brod is a place of great sadness.
“More than eight decades ago, more than 6,000 Serbs were killed here in the most brutal way, among them a large number of women, children and the elderly. Their only ‘sin’ was that they were Serbs,” said Đurević and added:
“That’s why we are not here today just to pay tribute to the innocent victims. We are here to protect the truth”.
The memorial service was attended by the Minister of Labor and Veterans’ and Disability Protection of the Republika Srpska Radan Ostojić, the representative of the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Serbian people Maja Gačić, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs of Serbia Zoran Antić and Minister Counselor at the Embassy of Serbia in BiH Nataša Đorđević.
The commemoration was attended, among others, by the mayors of the municipalities of Višegrad, Rogatica, Sokolac and Novo Goražde, and representatives of the municipalities of Foča, East Sarajevo and Kalinovik.
The commemoration is organized by the Committee of the Government of the Republic of Srpska for nurturing the tradition of liberation wars.
During the Ustasha offensive, more than 6,000 Serbs from the areas of Sarajevo, Sokolac, Olov, Kladnje, Rogatica, Han Pijeska and Višegrad were killed, who tried to cross the river Drina and seek salvation in Serbia. A number of people drowned in the Drina river, fleeing from the Ustasha.
The most mass killing was carried out on March 22, 1942, but the killings continued until the beginning of May 1942.
A memorial museum to the victims of Stari Brod was built in Stari Brod, Srna writes.
