The caskets with the remains of the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica, which will find peace in the valley of white niches in Potočari on July 11, will be escorted today from PUK “Gradska groblja” Visoko, as in previous years, on their way to Potočari.
The departure from Visoko is scheduled at 10:00 a.m., and the sad column will make a short stop in Ilijaš, Vogošća, Sarajevo and Srebrenica in order to honor the innocent victims of the genocide. The reception of the coffins in Potočari is planned at 4:30 p.m.
The remains of 30 victims of the genocide committed in Srebrenica in the summer of 1995, including four minors, will be buried at the collective funeral on July 11 in the Memorial Center of Srebrenica – Potočari.
The spokeswoman of the Institute for Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Emza Fazlić, said that the youngest victim to be buried this year is the boy Elvir Salčinović, who was only 15 years old when he was killed. Elvir was killed in the area of Baljkovica, and his remains were exhumed from the Liplja mass grave near Zvornik in 2001.
Apart from him, the remains of three other minors will be buried this year. Semir Đozić was 17 years old at the time of his death. His remains were exhumed in 2002 from one of the numerous mass graves that were discovered in Kamenica near Zvornik.
This year, sixteen-year-old boys Mustafa Mekanić and Esed Klempić will also be buried. Mustafa’s remains were exhumed from the Ravnica-Glogova mass grave in 2001, while Esed’s remains were found in a mass grave in Kamenica in 2001.
The oldest victim who will be buried is Nezir Muminović, who was 65 years old when he was killed. He disappeared in the summer of 1995 in the area of Zvornik, and his remains were exhumed in 2007 in the area of Kamenica.
Fazlić said that in the premises of the Podrinje identification project there are remains of another 55 victims who were identified with the help of the DNA method, but the families have not yet decided on official identification and consent for burial.
“At the same time, there are the remains of another 14 victims who have been identified, but we have not yet received consent for their burial. The reason for this is mainly the incompleteness of the bodies, which makes it difficult for families to decide to bury a few remains of their loved ones and decide to wait a little longer, in the hope that other parts of the skeletons of their loved ones will also be found. However, we appeal to them to find the strength and do it. We continue to search and the remains that are subsequently found will certainly be added to those buried earlier after identification,” said Fazlić.
She reminds that every year, after the collective funeral in Potočari, re-exhumations of previously buried victims follow, in order to add the remains found later.
“According to the consents of the family members that we have received so far, 71 victims will be re-exhumed this year. Therefore, 71 graves will be opened again for the re-association of the remains,” said Fazlić.
According to her, in the premises of the Podrinje identification project, there are still around 400 remains that are also waiting for the reexhumation and reassociation process.
“However, we are facing problems in the process, because the families of the victims who have already buried their loved ones in large numbers have moved away, changed their addresses, phone numbers and it is simply not possible to contact them to identify these remains and give their consent for re-association. Therefore, we appeal to all those family members of victims of genocide who buried their loved ones in earlier years and who know that their bodies were buried incomplete to contact us, to contact the Institute for Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina and leave us their contacts and information in order to that’s how they ended these processes and added the remains found later to those buried earlier,” said Fazlić.
The commemoration of the 28th anniversary of the genocide against the Bosniaks of the “UN Safe Zone” Srebrenica and the burial of the identified victims of the July 1995 genocide will be held on July 11 at the Potočari Memorial Center.
The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina previously passed a Decision declaring July 11, 2023, the day of remembrance of the genocide in Srebrenica, as the Day of Mourning in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Council of Ministers Bosnia and Herzegovina did not reach a consensus for the decision to declare July 11 as the Day of Mourning in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was proposed by the Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez.
The following will be buried in the Srebrenica – Potočari Memorial Center on July 11 this year:
Esad (Tajib) Džanić
Bekir (Demir) Music
Sakib (Mehmed) Garaljević
Himzo (Idriz) Mujić
Hasib (Hasso) Ibrahimović
Ređo (Huso) Jahić
Rifet (Hajro) Tabakovic
Idriz (Ibro) Mehinović
Mujo (Meho) Esmić
Šaban (Semso) Ibrić
Senid (Ismet) Hodžić
Semir (Edhem) Đozić
Sabid (Abid) Ibrahimović
Mehmed (Mahmut) Gerović
Nisad (Sevko) Selimović
Halil (Mujo) Avdic
Hasan (Omer) Smajlović
Esed (Alija) Klempic
Sabahudin (Bajro) Selimović
Husein (Ibrahim) Zukić
Elvir (Turabija) Salčinović
Dzemail (Omer) Alic
Mustafa (Junuz) Mekanić
Ahmedin (Ahmet) Halilović
Zuhdija (Avdija) Lemeš
Hasib (Vejsil) Mujanović
Vejsil (Secan) Mujanovic
Ekber (Saćir) Riđić
Mevlid (Zildžija) Aljić
Nezir (Mumin) Muminović
