The anniversary of the martyrdom of Bosniaks was marked in Foča. Flowers were thrown into the Drina river in memory of the three thousand Bosnians killed in this region during the last war.
Every year, the victims’ families request the prosecution of the criminals and the marking of the place of suffering.
Foča is synonymous with the most brutal war crimes against women that occurred in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Basic human issues have still not been resolved. We have not found our loved ones. Many perpetrators of this crime have not been prosecuted. Unfortunately, they are walking freely in this city. That is why every year, with events like this, we appeal to the institutions to deal with these issues and to help us in finding answers, to find our 619 loved ones from this municipality”, emphasized Midheta Kaloper, president of the Association of War Victims “Foča 1992-1995”.
Two life sentences by international and domestic courts were confirmed for the crimes in Foca.
Flowers were planted and pray was said in front of the houses of in the Bikavac settlement and in Pionirska Street, where in 1992 members of the paramilitary formation “Osvetnici” under the leadership of Milan Lukic closed and after that burned more than 130 civilians.
More than 60 civilians, mainly women and children, were burned at the house of Adem Omeragic in Pionirska Street. The youngest victim was only two days old and did not even get a name.
Similarly happened to the Bikavac settlement. Esad Tufekcic lost a complete family in a live fire.
“I lost my wife, a five-year-old daughter, a two-year-old son. After 27 years of in vain search we could not find the smallest bone. It is my life’s wish that as long as I am alive to find mortal remains to be able to bury them properly, pay for them. There was a burning fire there, and the only survivor in that pit was Zehra Turjancanin. They were all women and children, there was no military capability, and everyone who was Muslim was supposed to disappear,” says Tufekcic.
