Italian Ambassador to BiH Marco di Ruzza and Mostar Mayor Mario Kordic paid tribute to three Italian journalists in Mostar on Friday on the 28th anniversary of their deaths.
They are journalist Marco Luchetti and two technicians, Dari D’Angelo and Alessandro Oti, from the Trieste headquarters of RAI, who lost their lives on January 28, 1994 while writing about child victims of the war in the former Yugoslavia.
Three journalists found themselves in the middle of artillery fire in East Mostar and were killed by a mortar shell, saving the life of the boy Zlatko Omanovic, who was with them at the time and whose bodies were protected by three journalists, Fena news agency writes.
On that occasion, Ambassador Di Ruzza said that Italy had done its best to help all the peoples of BiH during the last war, and that this was evident in the deaths of journalists.
“Italy was at heart in BiH during the last war and Italian citizens wanted to help everyone in BiH in those tragic moments,” said the Italian ambassador.
He said that their sacrifice must be an inspiration for all those who work to promote real reconciliation processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as to support the process of European integration of this country.
The commemoration was held at the site where the Italians were killed by a mortar shell, in front of memorial.
“Journalists Marco Luchetti and two technicians, Darijo D’Angeli and Alessandro Oti, driven by desire and their journalistic drive, wanted to draw the world’s attention to the horrors of children’s suffering. Unfortunately, they lost their own lives. It is a heavy loss for their families, colleagues and friends, for the Republic of Italy but also for the City of Mostar,” said the Mayor of Mostar at the commemoration.
