In Ahmići near Vitez, the 31st anniversary of the crime against civilians was marked. On this day in 1993, in the early hours of the morning, members of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) killed 116 Bosniak civilians in Ahmići and burned their property.
At the beginning of the commemoration, a film was shown about the crime in Ahmići, in which one of the Hague convicts, the wartime commander of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO), Dario Kordić, said that he would do it all again.
The commemoration was attended by numerous domestic and foreign officials.
During the commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the crime against Bosniaks in Ahmići, the president of the Organizing Committee, Advan Akeljić, pointed out that there is ample evidence that the crime in Ahmići was carried out in a systemic and planned manner.
“The crime in Ahmići was planned and there is a lot of evidence about it, on the basis of which the Court in The Hague passed verdicts, and the consequences were 116 killed civilians, of which 11 were children. The crime was committed in a systemic way. Crimes are being pardoned, and some say that have done everything again. These are messages that give us the imperative to present the truth. We also condemn the denial of crimes. We call on the competent institutions to immediately proceed with the prosecution of all crimes, said Akeljić.
Enisa Ahmić – Mulić, a surviving witness from Ahmić, told the details of the crime in Ahmić.
“I was only 14 years old when they shot my father Šukret early in the morning. Images of that mask lined up in front of my eyes, with which I have lived for 31 years. Then my neighbor and his wife fell, and then my uncle and his three children. The oldest was eight years old, the middle one was six, and the baby was only three months old. His wife was wounded and burned. Human corpses were burned immediately, as well as my aunt, my grandfather Sakib heard her cries. is the surviving victim.
The former commander of the British battalion within the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bob Stewart, who arrived in Ahmici with a group of former British soldiers who were the first to discover the crime in that place, pointed out that they did not have enough personnel or enough vehicles to do anything to prevent crime in Ahmići.
“I’m no hero, no one is a hero, but the soldiers from Great Britain felt it was their duty to protect the people. At one point I was ordered back and I told my men that we might have to retreat, but most of my soldiers we she said ‘there is no way we can leave this country, these people are like our family, they are like us in every possible way.’ Great Britain considers Bosnia and Herzegovina a special place. In 1993, the international community failed Ahmić, and for that I apologize, because 116 people were killed then,” said Stewart.
The Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Refik Lendo, pointed out that it is everyone’s duty to speak and remind about historical and legal facts.
“Speaking and conveying the truth is the greatest remedy for reconciliation and trust. Telling the truth and only the truth. These people in Vitez, as well as in Srebrenica, Muslims are not looking for revenge but for reconciliation, regardless of the fact that at that time the Ahmići did not have guns. Killing one child from three months, kill 11 children, and commit genocide in Srebrenica, this only strengthened us,” he said.
After the commemoration, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the Ahmići Memorial Cultural Center, named after the former commander of the British battalion, Bob Stewart, and then a visit was made to the Central Martyr’s Cemetery in Vitez, where flowers were laid.
As part of the commemoration of the anniversary of the crime, a symbolic walk “The Path of Truth and Remembrance” was organized from Vitez to the village of Ahmići, and another group of participants held a walk from Zenica to Ahmići.
In the early hours of the morning, on April 16, 1993, members of the special purpose units of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) “Džokeri” and “Maturice” attacked the village of Ahmići. 116 Bosniak civilians were killed, and the youngest victim in Ahmići was a three-month-old baby.
The International Tribunal for War Crimes Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia ruled that the murders in Ahmići were crimes against humanity. One of the commanders of the HVO, Dario Kordić, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, Zoran, Mirjan and Vlatko Kupreškić were sentenced to six to ten years in prison for participating in the massacre, but were acquitted by a new verdict in 2001.
Dario Kordić, who was serving a 25-year sentence in an Austrian prison for crimes in central Bosnia, including crimes in Ahmići on April 16, 1993, was released after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
The Hague Court also sentenced Miroslav Cick Brala, a former member of the HVO special unit “Jokers”, to 20 years in prison. Paško Ljubičić was sentenced to eight years in prison, and after serving two thirds of the sentence he was released, while Tihomir Blaškić was sentenced to nine years in prison. He was released later n that he served a sentence of eight years and four months, AA writes.
