With the sound of a siren that meant danger to citizens during the war in Mostar, and the traditional jump without applause from the new arch and throwing flowers into the river symbolically at 10:16, marked the 27th anniversary of the demolition of the most valuable symbol of Mostar – the Old Bridge, BHRT writes.
The spokesman of the Club of water jumpers “Mostari” Sasa Orucevic said that every anniversary of the demolition is sad and that November 9 is actually a black day in the history of the city.
“A jump without applause is the least our Club can do. The message is that such nonsense never happens anywhere again.
“Today we are here despite the pandemic, I will remind you that on this day 27 years ago, people came to the bridge under grenades,” he said.
On this day 27 years ago, the forces of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO), after two days of shelling, demolished the Old Bridge in Mostar.
With it, the entire old core of the Old Town was destroyed, including several monumental mosques, madrasas and the only hamam in Herzegovina. The demolition of the Old Bridge began twenty days earlier, and intensively on November 8, 1993.
It was hit from the nearby mountain heights of Planinica and Stotina with grenades of great destructive power. Grenades also fell on the Tara and Halebinka towers, which are a kind of static weight on the bridge. An entire street with shops called Kujundziluk has completely disappeared.
For two days in a row, the grenades intensively destroyed part of the bridge. On November 9, at 10:16 a.m., the bridge fell into the Neretva river.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague, in a verdict from 2017, which sentenced the “Hague Six” led by Jadranko Prlic to 111 years in prison for war crimes against Bosniaks, concluded that the Old Bridge was a legitimate military target.
In July 2004, the completion of the reconstruction of the Old Bridge was solemnly marked, and a year later, in July 2005, the Old Bridge and the Old Town were inscribed on the UNESCO list.
(Photo: Anadolija)
