The remains of five victims of crimes committed in the area of Kruhar, Ljubija and Sanski Most were sent from the Šejkovača Identification Center.
In addition to family members, the convoy was escorted by numerous citizens gathered at Trg ljiljana in Sanski Most, after which the convoy continued its journey through the cities of the Una-Sana Canton towards Prijedor, more specifically the Kamicani Memorial Center, where a collective funeral will be held this Monday. The burial will take place in several cemeteries, in accordance with the wishes of the victims’ families.
Numerous citizens, representatives of authorities and institutions paid tribute to the victims by reciting the Fatiha, a minute of silence and laying flowers on the truck with the remains.
Thirty years of searching for loved ones
The five coffins of the martyrs were sent away this morning from the Šejkovača Identification Center in Sanski Most, and they will find their final destination and rest at the collective funeral at the Kamicani Memorial Center in Kozarac.
More than three decades of pain and searching for victims. Semira Hajrudin, after 33 years of searching, will bury only a few bones of her brother Azmir this year.
“I’m sorry that my late mother didn’t live to see it, it was her greatest wish – to bury him and for his soul to somehow find peace, and so do all of us as members of his family,” said Hajrudin.
Zerina Talić-Kurić also lost her loved ones in the war. Her only defense against oblivion is a living word, the one that echoes: not to be forgotten, not to be repeated.
“I personally experienced a tragedy, my brother was killed as a minor, my father was also killed in Prijedor. This is something that we really must not allow to happen again,” said Talić-Kurić.
Numerous victims are still awaiting identification
While some have found and buried their loved ones, many are still searching for the remains of their family members. In the Identification Center of Šejkovač, there are still remains awaiting official confirmation of identity.
Ibrahim Kahrimanović, a member of the Organizational Committee of the Kamicani Martyr’s Funeral, explained that the identification process is still ongoing.
“Unfortunately, the DNA findings go to Holland, they go to The Hague. When they come back, then we can get the green light for the burial and worship of the martyr’s funeral. We have a lot of bones from each mass grave from which we cannot extract the profile, we cannot extract the DNA, which we have been chasing for four years, to bury it and to put these bones to rest,” said Kahrimanović.
A message of memory and truth
Mufti of Bihać Mehmed ef. Kudić pointed out that many victims are still waiting for their last farewell.
“Hundreds of our martyrs are lying in different places, on the hills, in the valleys of Prijedor and Sana. They are waiting for the day when we will find them and when we will see them off to a better world in this way, here and in other cities of the Bosnian Krajina,” said Kudić.
Crime against humanity and international law researcher Mujo Begić emphasized the importance of preserving the culture of memory.
“This is an opportunity to send a clear message that we remember the victims and that it is important to constantly remind us of evil,” said Begić.
The collective funeral will be held today at the Kamicani Memorial Center in Kozarac.
