With the special program and the laying of flowers at the Memorial to the murdered children of the besieged Sarajevo in 1992-1995. May 5, the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Children of the Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was marked.
On this occasion, an appropriate program was organized today in Sarajevo, in which students from primary and secondary schools of the Canton of Sarajevo participated.
On the same occasion, flowers were laid by the Association of Parents of Murdered Children of Besieged Sarajevo, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić, the delegation of the Sarajevo Canton Government, and representatives of other institutions, associations and citizens.
According to the Association of Parents of Killed Children, during the siege of Sarajevo, which is considered the longest siege in the history of modern warfare, 1,601 children were killed.
“This memorial, a symbol of the suffering of children and this event, confirms, warns and obliges. It confirms that in 1992 aggression was carried out against the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that this city was under siege for 1,425 days, in a hell, when criminals from the surrounding hills brutally killed the citizens of Sarajevo and during that period killed 11,541 of our fellow citizens, of which 1,601 were children,” said Fikret Grabovica, president of the Association of Parents of Murdered Children of Besieged Sarajevo, was present.
He said the children were killed “in a brutal manner, systematically, with intent and on different occasions.”
“They were killed in search of water, for food, while sleeping, in the home environment, at school, and I would say, in most cases during their duty and play, when there was an apparent truce, they would go out to hang out for a while and they relax. However, criminals would use those opportunities and kill them in groups,” said Grabovica, pointing out that the killing of children by snipers is a special story.
He said that the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina did not stop after the end of the armed conflicts, but was continued by other means and is still ongoing.
“This Memorial warns us to be careful, to preserve the truth in an appropriate way, to promote it. Here, one of the ways is also this. I especially want to tell young people that it is very important that they know this truth, because they others who are ready to commit evil again, they create their own truth,” Grabovica emphasized and called on the institutions to do more to promote the truth.
In the end, he said that the Memorial to the murdered children of the besieged Sarajevo in 1992-1995. it obliges the elderly to create better and more beautiful circumstances for young and future generations, for their safe and more beautiful life.
“Dear children, I want to tell you to be good students, to educate yourself at the highest possible level, because education and knowledge can be and should be your strongest tool, to be good friends, to spread love, because love is also the basis for doing a better future for myself and all of you. I want to tell you that you love this city, the country, because love is very important for life, for a better life,” said Grabovica.
In 2019, the Government of Sarajevo Canton made a decision that May 5 will be commemorated as the Day of Remembrance for the Murdered Children of Sarajevo.
This year, the Day of Remembrance of the Murdered Children of Sarajevo was celebrated on May 7, and the organization of this event was taken over by the Ministry of Education of Sarajevo Canton.
The Association of Parents of Murdered Children of Besieged Sarajevo often drew attention to the fact that BH judiciary did not do enough to prosecute the crimes against the murdered children of the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The siege of Sarajevo began on April 5, 1992, and ended on February 29, 1996. It lasted 1,425 days.
During that time, around 350,000 inhabitants were exposed to daily fire from members of the former JNA and paramilitary formations, and later members of the then Army of the Republika Srpska, from almost all types of weapons, from positions located on the surrounding hills. They did not manage to descend and occupy the city only thanks to the great will, desire and efforts of the defenders, the majority of citizens who responded to the call for defense, and at the beginning, almost bare-handed, in sneakers and jeans, with minimal weapons, stood up to the defenders of the city.
During the siege, 11,541 citizens of Sarajevo died, including 1,601 children. According to post-war research, most of the inhabitants, almost four fifths of the total number of dead, died in the first two years of the war, AA writes.
