The families of 18 victims of the genocide committed in Srebrenica in 1995 have so far agreed to be buried at a collective funeral at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center on July 11 this year.
A spokeswoman for the Institute for Missing Persons (INO) of BiH, Emza Fazlic, told Fena news agency that they expect this number to be significantly higher, because the final identification of victims for whom a DNA finding on their identity has arrived so far will follow. the remains are in the Podrinje Identification Project (PiP) in Tuzla.
“Families have time to decide on this step until the beginning of July, when the number of victims who will be buried in Potocari for that year is usually concluded,” Fazlic said.
According to her, the remains of 35 genocide victims who are awaiting consent for burial are also in the PiP premises. She explained that the families of these victims had previously made an official identification, but consent for their burial had not been given.
“The reason for that is mainly the scarcity of the remains that were found, which is why it is extremely difficult for the family to decide to finally put only one, two or a few bones in the grave,” says Fazlic.
At the same time, the remains of another 79 victims are awaiting identification by family members, for whom the identity was obtained through the DNA method.
Fazlic states that in this case, too, the families hope that some more parts of the skeletons of these victims will be found so that they can be added to the previously found ones, and buried together.
“However, time passes, and the remains of some victims have been in the morgue for more than a decade. That is why the Institute calls on the families of those victims whose remains have been identified to give their consent for their burial.
Already now, based on the intensive activities of the Institute, when it comes to final identification, we have scheduled appointments in order for families to confirm the identities of the victims obtained by DNA analysis and give consent for burial, “Fazlic pointed out.
She says that this year, every day, they invite the families of the victims for whom the DNA identity card arrived, to identify their loved ones and give consent for their burial.
“We appreciate that it is much more humane to put the remains in the ground from keeping them for too long, in bags on the shelves in the morgue, no matter how difficult it was to face such a decision. However, we always have understanding for families who find it too painful,” she said.
She stressed that the Institute for Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not stop searching and all mortal remains that will be found later will certainly be added to those previously buried during the re-exhumation process, so there is no fear that these remains will not be buried if they are subsequently found.
At the same time, while more than a hundred remains are awaiting the families’ decision on identity confirmation and burial, there are remains of 93 victims in the PiP premises who cannot be identified. Namely, a DNA profile has been isolated in relation to these victims. for years, there has been no match between that profile and the blood samples of family members of the missing victims, “Fazlic said.
