Delegations from the Italian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the City of Mostar, together with citizens, paid tribute on Tuesday to three Italian journalists who were killed on January 28, 1994 in Mostar.
They are Marco Luchetti, Dario D’Angelo and Alessandro Oti, from RAI television. They were killed by a grenade, and a memorial plaque was unveiled at the site of their deaths after the war.
Brave media workers
At that site, the Italian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarah Eti Castellani (Castellani), the Mayor of Mostar Mario Kordić and the President of the City Council of Mostar Đani Rahimić laid flowers and remembered the brave media workers.
Ambassador Castellani recalled the day when an RAI journalist and two cameramen lost their lives while trying to make a report about children in war.
“Unfortunately, one shell hit the place where they were standing, killing three of them, but their bodies protected little Zlatko Omanović, with whom they were talking at that moment. I remember that day very well, it was my senior year of high school. I remember those three characters and that it was a tragedy that affected all of us in Italy,” said the ambassador.
She added that the journalists came to do their work with great courage.
“To come to war and show what happens to children, to show that everyone loses in war, without any difference. Their sacrifice also speaks of altruism, of everything that Italy gave during the war and after it when it comes to this country. After 31 years, we owe them some kind of service, we should make sure that we have Bosnia and Herzegovina which will be a country of peace and unity,” she emphasized.
She also said that she would be glad if the place where the memorial plaque is is visited more often, not only because of the memory of them, but also of their families and the association that bears their name in Trieste, which helps treat wounded and sick children in wars.
Kordić: We maintain a culture of memory
The mayor of Mostar, Mario Kordić, thanked the ambassador for coming and for continuing the tradition, adding that people visit the place where the Italian journalists were killed even after this anniversary date.
“It is nice to maintain the culture of memory and to pay respect to the victims who died in the 90s. It is important that in this way we send a message about the absurdity of the war and everything that happened here in the 90s. Also, it is important that we move forward together in a sincere feeling and try to find a way of living together because that is the only way this makes sense, otherwise the sacrifices are in vain,” Kordić said.
The Embassy of Italy organizes a commemoration every year for the three journalists of the Italian RAI television, Mario Luchetta, Dario D’Angelo and Alessandro Ota, who lost their lives on January 28, 1994 while filming a report about children and the war. The “Fondazione Luchetta Ota D’Angelo Hrovatin” headquarters is located in Trieste, the city from which the journalists died.
The foundation was founded after the death of Italian journalists in Mostar and it helps in the treatment of wounded and sick children in wars and children suffering from diseases that are incurable in their countries, Fena writes.
Photo: Platform X/Embassy of Italy in BiH
