“I am Suljo Cekanovic, a medical worker. I survived the Srebrenica genocide and the death march in 1995. Since then, I regularly attend the Peace March, in memory of all those who did not survive,” says Suljo before leaving for the Peace March, while the final preparations are underway.
It is estimated that after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995, between 12 and 15 thousand people marched through the forests and enemy lines toward the free territory around Tuzla. Most of them did not survive. More than 8.000 people were killed, mostly men and boys from Srebrenica and its surroundings. One of those who did not survive was Suljo’s brother.
Day two, July 9th
“I was constantly looking for my brother in a crowd of faces, but to no avail,” recalls Suljo in July 1995, while a column of more than 4.000 people on the second day of the Peace March moved towards Potocari, where only parts of the remains of Suljo’s brother Salem were buried.
Route of the second day of the Peace March
The Peace March left the Liplje camp early yesterday morning towards Potocari. It passes through Josanica, Donja Kamenica, Bakraci, Glodi, Udrc, Cerska, Kaldrmica, Djugum and Mravinjci.
Kamenica
“I was trying to get back through that crowd of people to see if my brother was nearby. I didn’t succeed. There were many people crammed like sardines and I didn’t even manage to pass all the people to see if my brother was there,” Suljo recalls part of the journey in 1995.
Day one, July 8th
Suljo regularly attends the Peace March, and he is also in charge of the organization as president of the subcommittee.
Route of the first day of the Peace March
Nezuk
On the first day of the Peace March, the starting point is from Nezuk via Baljkovica, Parlog, Crni Vrh, and Snagovo to Liplje, where the participants will spend the night.
Nezuk
Suljo remembers well when in 1995, after walking for days, he reached Nezuk, a free territory, from where the people symbolically start Peace March.
Suljo lost his brother Salem in the forests while he was running away. His brother was 35 years old when he was killed during the Death March, he was six years older than Suljo. Only part of his remains were found in 2005, in the Kamenica 6 mass grave. The family hoped that other parts of the body would eventually be found, and in the end, they decided that Salem would be buried on July 11th, 2018, on the 23rd anniversary of the genocide.
More than 50 people have been sentenced to more than 700 years in prison for genocide and crimes in Srebrenica. Despite the evidence that was accepted during numerous trials, most officials of the Republika Srpska (RS) and Serbia deny that genocide was committed in Srebrenica, Radio Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
