The 29th anniversary of the suffering of Bosniaks and Croats from Prijedor and Kotor Varos was marked at the Koricanske stijene site on Vlasic.
Two hundred roses were thrown from a cliff at the Koricanske stijene site in Vlasic, where 224 Bosniak and Croat men were shot on August 21st, 1992.
The men, who were previously detained in the Prijedor camps, under the excuse of exchange, were lined up at Koricanske stijene by members of the intervention lead of the then Republika Srpska (RS) police from Prijedor.
Ordering them to kneel, they shot them in the back after which their bodies fell into an abyss more than 300 meters deep. Yesterday, the families of those killed, the survivors, as well as the members of the Association of Detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) prayed with Fatiha at that execution site and paid tribute to the victims.
Alema Lihovic was among those who gathered yesterday.
“I lost my 17-year-old son. In 1992, they separated us. We only found a few mortal remains, ” said Lihovic.
Munevera Avdic, president of the organization of families of martyrs, killed fighters, and missing persons in Kotor Varos, reminded that they are the co-organizers of this commemoration.
“Until now, more than 7.500 missing persons are wanted in BiH. We are not satisfied with the pace of the search for missing persons. Families die, their loved ones are not found, and they go to the next world without knowing what happened to their family members. I hereby appeal to all institutions that deal with this issue to speed up the process of searching for the missing,” Avdic added.
Mirsad Duratovic, a former detainee of the “Omarska” camp, current president of the Assembly of the City of Prijedor, and president of the Regional Association of Detainees of the Banja Luka region, was also present at the commemoration and noted that yesterday was the 29th anniversary of one of the most monstrous crimes committed against members of the detainee camp of Prijedor.
“It is the crown of the crime committed by the intervention leadof the Prijedor police, 182 have been identified so far from Koricanske stijene, of which 177 are from Prijedor and 5 from Kotor Varos. We are still searching for the 7 people who were killed here, ” told Duratovic.
He criticized the Court of BiH for sentencing.
“Statistically speaking, 11 Prijedor police officers were sentenced to a total of 199 years in prison for 184 murders. Ifyou look at it mathematically, you come to the conclusion that this group received 12.5 months in prison for each murdered person, ” explained Duratovic, stating that it is a punishment that cannot satisfy any of the victims’ families, BHRT writes.
E.Dz.
