Roses were thrown to the Drina River from the bridge in Višegrad in memory of three thousand killed Bosniaks in this town.
Anniversary of the crime was marked by the closest family members, who sent a message that bones of their loved ones have not been found yet, just like the war criminals responsible for the killings in Višegrad in 1992 have never been processed.
Three thousand Bosniaks were killed in this town between May and September 1992, stated the Association “Višegrad 92”. Among them is Omer Šeta, taken from his home and not a single trace of him was found ever since.
“It has been 24 years since my brother Omer went missing here, in Višegrad. We never found him. Sorrow and pain will linger forever. No one wants to say where he is, although many people know. My brother was not the only one who went missing; many people experienced the same fate. Omer was taken by Milan Lukić, together with the brothers Kurspahić. There are live witnesses who saw all that. He left a wife and two sons behind,” said Bahra Neretlić, sister of the killed Omer Šeta.
Memories that the people of Višegrad shared on the bridge yesterday are heavy and painful. Safet Avdić from Velji Lug lost his wife and 27 members of close family.
“I lost my wife and another 27 members of my family, in just two weeks. I am here every year, not a single body was exhumed. Going through this is difficult; it feels like it all happened yesterday. The young left, they are either abroad or in the FBiH, not many people return here, the elderly people usually come if they get a donation or something, but that is also difficult. The Bosniak people should be urged to return here, to step out and vote because if we do not vote here and fight for our rights, then there is no place for us in this city,” said Safet Avdić.
Behija Veljan, wife of the killed Ismet Veljan, was watching from her house in Bikavac how they kill people on the bridge.
“My husband Ismet Veljan was among the first members of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA). When the Užice Corps arrived, they were guarding, he was the fifth among 50 of them. They took him and killed him. We found him in the first discovered mass grave, in Kurtalići, in 200. He had no head, only body. He was buried at the cemetery in Stražište as unidentified. Later on, I asked for exhumation and determination of identity. My entire family was killed in Bikavac, and today it is worse to come here than to go to Stražište. From my house in Bikavac, I watched every day how they bring people on the bridge, kill them and throw them from both sides, I am a witness. This is the bloody Drina, the bloody Višegrad, this is all bloody,” said Behija Veljan.
Although the most responsible for the crimes in Višegrad, Milan Lukić, was sentenced to life, families of the killed are not satisfied with the processing of other participants in crimes in the Višegrad area.
“It is sad to speak about emotions, because there is not a single person who did not lose someone on this bridge. The entire world knows what this bridge is, Drina is the largest grave in the world. We cannot be satisfied with the processing of war crimes because even while we are marking this, they are walking freely,” said Hedija Kasapović, president of the Association “Višegrad 92”.
Even 24 years after the crimes in Višegrad occured, families are still looking for remains of over one thousand killed Bosniaks.
(Source: klix.ba/photo: vijesti24h.com)
