This year, in June, the anniversary of the Living Bonfires in Višegrad is being marked, when civilians, mostly women and children, were set on fire in several locations, of which Pionirska Street and Bikavac stand out.
On June 14, about seventy Bosniak civilians, mostly from the village of Koritnik, were set on fire in the house of Adem Omeragić in Pionirska Street. The youngest victim was only two days old. Two weeks later, the scenario was repeated in Bikavac, where around seventy Bosniak civilians were set on fire in the house of Meha Aljić. Survivor Zehra Turjačanin testified about the horrors at Bikavac before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
These war crimes were committed in June 1992 by members of the Avengers formation, led by the most cruel Visegrad criminals Milan and Sredoje Lukić.
The Hague Tribunal sentenced Milan Lukić to life imprisonment for crimes in Višegrad, including Pionirska and Bikavac. Sredoje Lukić was found guilty of beatings in the Uzamnica camp and that he contributed to the deprivation of the lives of civilians locked in the house of Adem Omeragić. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison. In 2019, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a verdict sentencing Radomir Šušnjar to 20 years in prison for participating in the attack, inhuman treatment and looting of the property of civilians from the village of Koritnik, who were imprisoned in the house of Jusuf Memić in Pionirska Street in Višegrad.
The civilians had to go to Adem Omeragić’s house, about thirty meters away, where they were imprisoned on the ground floor. According to this verdict, Milan Lukić planted an incendiary explosive device, and Radomir Šušnjar planted a hand grenade. They shot at civilians who tried to escape.
In order to bring the facts determined by the court closer to the public and honor the victims, the Association for Social Research and Communications (UDIK) says that they are actively working on documenting verdicts for war crimes that have been handed down in domestic courts.
In 2017, the publication “War crimes in Višegrad – judgments” was published, documenting nine cases of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Supreme Court of FBiH that convicted Boban Šimšić, Dragan Šekarić, Miloš Pantelić, Momir Savić, Nenad Tanasković, Nova Rajak, Oliver Krsmanović, Predrag Milisavljević, Vitomir Racković and Željko Lelek for war crimes in Višegrad.
In the continuation of this series of judgments, UDIK presents two new publications documenting the trials for war crimes in Višegrad. While one publication contains four cases of the State Court in which Mirko Tasić, Momir Tasić, Petar Kovačević, Petar Tasić, Radomir Šušnjar and Vuk Ratković were tried, the other brings the case against Milomir Đuričić and Vukadin Spasojević sentenced to the Uzamnica camp to a total of 16 years in prison.
As a special contribution to this publication, there are author’s texts by Edvin Kanka Ćudić, which were published in local and regional media.
These are stories that commemorate the victims of Višegrad, but also appeal to the residents of Višegrad not to remain silent, but to speak the truth about the fate of their neighbors. Although war crimes have been documented and the culprits convicted, there is still denial and relativization of crimes. Institutions that during the war served as places of detention, torture, rape and other inhuman treatment, and today are places of meetings, rest and rehabilitation, also contribute greatly to this. We remind you of the recent initiative of the Center for Civic Education (CGO) and UDIK, in which Montenegrin institutions were invited not to give faith to the rehabilitation center “Vilina Vlas” in Višegrad, known as a place of detention and rape of Bosniak women, which today works regularly and provides spa services.
UDIK appeals to all institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region to pay more attention to moral principles in their operations and not to cooperate with institutions that ignore and disrespect the pain and suffering of war victims.
“On the occasion of the anniversary of the war crimes in Visegrad, we remember all the Visegrad victims, especially the victims of the Pionirska and Bikavac Living Bonfires,” UDIK announced.
