Today is the International Day of White Ribbons, May 31, in memory of more than 3,000 killed in the Prijedor municipality from 1992 to 1995, among whom were 102 children.
On that date in 1992, the local authorities in Prijedor issued an order ordering the non-Serb population to mark their houses with white flags or sheets, and to wear white bands around their sleeves when leaving the house.
“Citizens of Serbian nationality, join your army and police in the pursuit of these extremists. Other citizens, Muslim and Croat nationalities, must hang white flags on their houses and apartments and put white ribbons on their hands. Otherwise, they will suffer severe consequences,” read the call on local radio.
In Prijedor, the commemoration program began with a gathering in the Old Town, at the location intended for the construction of a monument to the murdered children of Prijedor. The participants then walked to the city square, where a central gathering was held and 102 roses with the names of the murdered children were laid.
Organizers from the civic initiative “Because It Concerns Me” emphasized that White Armband Day is marked as an act of remembrance for the victims of war crimes committed in the Prijedor area, but also as a warning about the consequences of discrimination, persecution and violence.
On behalf of the parents of the murdered children, Fikret Bačić addressed the audience, once again calling on the local authorities to enable the construction of a monument for the 102 murdered children of Prijedor.
“We stand here with you every year with a white armband on our arm and we reiterate our request to erect a monument to the murdered children of Prijedor. We have the support of the people who come every year and the media who mark this date, but so far it has not been enough for the local authorities to issue a permit for the construction of the monument,” said Bačić.
He called on the Mayor of Prijedor, Slobodan Javor, to, as he stated, take responsibility towards future generations and enable the permanent commemoration of the children’s suffering.
“Yesterday, representatives of the local authorities celebrated Prijedor Defense Day, and no one mentioned the murdered children. From whom did they defend Prijedor? Did they defend the city from my Nermina and Nermin?” Bačić asked.
For years, the Day of White Ribbons gathers surviving victims, families of the murdered, human rights activists and citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, who on May 31 pay tribute to the murdered and remind of the need to face the past and build a culture of memory based on facts and respect for all victims.
According to official information from the victims’ association, 3,176 civilians were killed in Prijedor, while 31,000 people were imprisoned in camps around Prijedor. The Research Documentation Center from Sarajevo states that from 1991 to 1995, 5,209 citizens of Prijedor were killed or disappeared in direct military actions, of which 4,093 were Bosniaks, 898 were Serbs, and 182 were Croats.
So far, 56 verdicts have been handed down for crimes committed in the Prijedor municipality and more than 400 mass graves have been discovered, among which Tomašica, the largest mass grave in the Balkans, was discovered in 2013.
The families of the victims have been asking for years to build a monument to the murdered children of Prijedor.
Apart from Prijedor, the Day of White Ribbons is also marked in Sarajevo today.
