The Association of Family Members of the Missing from the Kalinovik Municipality, “Truth – Kalinovik ‘92”, today marked the 34th anniversary of the suffering of the Bosniak population in the area of that municipality. They issued an appeal to domestic and international institutions to ensure the victims’ right to memorialization, remove the mural of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić, and take measures in line with the principles of transitional justice.
Members of the Association “Truth-Kalinovik ‘92”, survivors, families of the victims, and numerous citizens toured the sites of suffering in Kalinovik and Foča during the commemoration. This included Rogoj, the Primary School in Kalinovik, the former Barutni Magacin camp, Mehka Brda, the village of Ratine, and the Tunnels near Miljevina, where they laid flowers and paid tribute to the murdered Bosniak civilians.
The president of the Association “Truth – Kalinovik ’92”, Samir Vranović, stated today that 34 years after the crimes committed against Bosniak civilians in Kalinovik, 42 missing persons are still unaccounted for, while certain war crime suspects remain free in the Republic of Serbia.
Vranović called on the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina to issue indictments against Grujo Lalović and Boško Govedarica, who the victims’ families believe played a significant role in planning and carrying out the persecution and murder of Bosniak civilians, as well as the establishment of detention camps in the Kalinovik area.
At the same time, he pointed out that to this day, no one has been held responsible for erecting a mural and a monument to the finally convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić in Kalinovik.
“We call on the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina to launch appropriate proceedings, bearing in mind that the glorification of war criminals, according to the 2021 Amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is prohibited and punishable,” Vranović stated.
He emphasized that numerous sites of suffering and detention of non-Serb civilians—including the “Ljutica Bogdan” Primary School, the former Barutni Magacin camp, and other execution sites in the Kalinovik and Foča areas—have not yet been adequately marked.
He recalled that the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced several individuals to a total of 93 years in prison for war crimes committed in Kalinovik, including Ratko Bundalo, Neđo Zeljaja, Đorđislav Aškraba, Novica Tripković, Slavko Lalović, and Dalibor Krstović.
He added that for crimes committed in the Kalinovik and Foča areas, the Hague Tribunal sentenced Dragoslav Kunarac to 28 years in prison, while Ratko Mladić, Biljana Plavšić, and Momčilo Krajišnik were also convicted before the same court for persecution and war crimes in Kalinovik.
Professor of Philosophy and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Southern Connecticut State University and member of the Steering Board of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University, David Pettigrew, stated on this occasion that the commemoration of the anniversary confirms the right of survivors and victims’ families to preserve the memory of those who perished.
He emphasized that this occasion pays tribute to all victims of Kalinovik, including those whose remains have not yet been found or identified, among whom are Dr. Abdurahman Filipović, Avdija Škoro, and Salko Vranović.
Pettigrew called on the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, and the Office of the High Representative to support the exercise of the right to erect memorials at war crime sites in Kalinovik. This includes a memorial museum and cemetery at the former Barutni Magacincamp, as well as a memorial on the grounds of the Primary School, which served as the largest concentration camp in that municipality during 1992.
At the same time, he requested the removal of the mural of Ratko Mladić at the entrance to Kalinovik, stating that it was erected without the necessary approvals and permits.
“The culture of remembrance is a key element of peace-building in a post-genocide society. A mural depicting Mladić as a hero is inhumane and re-traumatizing for survivors because it glorifies a person finally convicted of genocide. This glorifies crimes and increases the risk of their repetition,” Pettigrew said.
He emphasized that the protection of victims’ dignity, the right to truth, respect for the rule of law, and the preservation of memory through memorialization are fundamental principles of transitional justice, which are also contained in documents of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
He stated that the participants of the commemoration jointly condemn hate speech and genocide denial, and demand the removal of the mural and that the erection of a monument to the victims be allowed.
“Their lives and the memory of them will not be erased or forgotten. The promotion of the culture of remembrance is crucial for peace-building, justice, and a democratic future for Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Pettigrew concluded.
On the occasion of the 34th anniversary of the suffering of Bosniak civilians, the victims’ families once again issued an appeal to the competent institutions to intensify the search for missing persons, prosecute those responsible for war crimes, and ensure the dignified marking of all sites of suffering in order to preserve the memory of the victims and prevent the denial of the committed crimes.
According to the rulings of domestic and international courts, following the takeover of power by Serb forces in the spring of 1992, a systematic persecution of the Bosniak population began in the Kalinovik area. Bosniaks were unlawfully arrested and detained on the premises of the Primary School and the Barutni Magacin camp, where they were subjected to beatings, torture, rape, and other forms of abuse. A large number of detainees were taken to execution sites, while villages with Bosniak populations were burned and destroyed.
According to data from the victims’ families association, 122 Bosniak civilians were killed, and 42 people are still missing. For some of the crimes, final verdicts have been handed down by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Hague Tribunal, while the victims’ families warn that not all of those responsible have been prosecuted yet.
