Family members, friends, representatives of the victims’ associations and representatives of the authorities marked the 31st anniversary of the Markale massacre in Sarajevo today and paid tribute to the tragically martyred Sarajevo citizens.
On this day in 1995, 43 citizens of Sarajevo were killed near the northern entrance to the Markale City Market, and 84 were slightly and seriously wounded by a mortar shell fired from the position of the RS Army (VRS) on Trebević.
On that fateful day, the following died: Omer Ajanović, Hidajet Alić, Salko Alić, Zeno Bašević, Husein Baktašević, Sevda Brkan-Kruščica, Vera Brutus-Dukić, Halida Cepić, Paša Crnčalo, Mejra Cocalić, Razija Colić, Esad Čoranbegić, Dario Dlouhi, Salko Duraković, Alija Dževlan, Najla Fazlić, Rijad Garbo, Ibrahim Hajvaz, Meho Herceglić, Jasmina Hodžić, Hajrudin Hozo, Jusuf Hašimbegović, Adnan Ibrahimagić, Ilija Karanović, Mesudija Kerović, Vehid Komar, Muhamed Kukić, Mirsad Kovačević, Hasim Kurtović, Ismet Klarić, Masija Lončar, Osman Mahmutović, Senad Muratović, Goran Poturković, Blaženka Smoljan, Hamid Smajlhodžić, Hajro Šatrović, Samir Topuzović, Hamza Tunović, Ajdin Vukotić, Sabaheta Vukotić, Meho Zećo and Narima Žiga.
For war crimes against the inhabitants of Sarajevo, including the two massacres at Markale, the International Court in The Hague sentenced the high-ranking officers of the Army of Republika Srpska – Stanislav Galić to life imprisonment, and Dragomir Milošević to 29 years.
The Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Denis Bećirović, said that he came to show respect for the innocent victims, solidarity with their families and all citizens of Sarajevo.
“We want to build a safe future, and forgetting is the biggest opponent of such a future, and that’s why it’s important to be here, but also at other killing fields, and to preserve the truth,” said Bećirović.
The mayor of Sarajevo, Samir Avdić, pointed out that it is an obligation to pay tribute to fellow citizens who died innocently before the 31st year.
He added that yesterday’s death of the war criminal Ratko Mladić shows that in the end all things fall into place, and that our fellow citizens who died are an instruction to never forget what happened.
