A funeral service was held today at the Gornja Kalesija Memorial Complex and Martyrs’ Cemetery for four victims killed in the Zvornik area during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Three victims were buried under the name NN, and the fourth victim is Osman (Ibrahim) Osmanović, born in 1926 in Caparde, Kalesija Municipality. His remains were exhumed on July 1, 2024 at the Konjević Polje location, Bratunac Municipality, reports MINA.
The funeral service was led by the Mufti of Tuzla, Vahid-ef. Fazlović.
”I convey to you the condolences of the respected reisul-ulema of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein-ef. Kavazović, especially to the family of the late Osman Osmanović, as well as to the families that are still searching for their missing. These deceased, martyrs on the coffins in front of us who do not yet have a name and surname, could come from any of these families. And this is one of the proofs of mass crimes and the greatest crime of genocide, proof of how much disorder and turmoil have been sown in this country, in Podrinje and Zvornik,” the mufti emphasized.
He recalled the Quranic words that mention the concept of testimony, emphasizing that martyrs have the highest degree of testimony.
“That is why these martyrs of ours will remain permanently to testify about the crimes committed in this country, about the atrocities of wicked people, merciless, people with cruel hearts. And we are all witnesses. Today, in this place, we collectively testify for the martyrs of Zvornik. We bear witness to what happened on this day in 1992 in Bijeli Potok, when members of the RS Army, with support from another state, cruelly and brutally rounded up Bosniaks, separated men and boys, and in that mass crime killed 675 Bosniaks. Regardless of the fact that Zvornik is a symbol of evidence of how massive the crimes against Bosniaks in Podrinje were, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, many criminals have still not been sentenced. That is why we must bear witness steadfastly, be upright, individually and collectively. And, isn’t Zvornik, indeed, clear and painful evidence, because in this place, in a large number of mass graves, the bodies of thousands of Bosniaks are found,” said Mufti Fazlović.
Around 600 bodies of Bosniaks were found in one mass grave on Crni Vrh alone. In Kamenica, Zvornik, 13 mass graves have been found so far, containing the bodies of thousands of Bosniaks from all over Podrinje, Bosniaks who were killed in the genocide in Srebrenica and the wider area.
“We are all obliged to energetically do what is possible to prove the crimes and fulfill justice. This is a debt for the sake of our martyrs and their families, but also for the sake of this country and its future, for the sake of our children, our descendants and all good people. That is why our martyrs must be a mirror of our soul and our responsibility,” said Mufti Fazlović.
After today’s funeral, 800 martyrs of Zvornik were buried in the Memorial Complex and Martyrs’ Cemetery in Gornja Kalesija.
Ahmet Grahić, president of the Association of Families of the Captured and Missing of the Zvornik Municipality, called on the families of the missing to contact the competent institutions and donate blood in order to try to identify as many of the remains of the murdered Zvornik residents that have been found so far.
He also called on all those who know of the places where individual or mass graves are located to reveal their locations.
The search is still on for 418 missing Bosniaks from the Zvornik Municipality.
