In cooperation with the Veterans Organisation of Republika Srpska in the Novi Grad Municipality, the Centre for Nonviolent Action (CNA) Sarajevo-Belgrade organised a visit to Novi Grad/Bosanski Novi on 17 March.
Twenty-two war veterans and four of us from CNA participated in the visit. The group of war-veterans was made up of former members of the Croatian Army from Pakrac, Glina and Zagreb, the Yugoslav National Army from Vlasotince and Novi Sad, the Croat Defence Council from Busovača, Brčko and Bihać, the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje, Prijedor, Vitez, Sarajevo and Zavidovići, the Army of Yugoslavia from Kruševac, and the Army of Republika Srpska from Šamac, Derventa and Prijedor.
Our hosts from the Novi Grad Veterans Organisation were joined by former members of the Army of RBiH from this town. For the first time since the end of the war, together we visited sites of suffering of both the Bosniak and the Serb people from this municipality. We visited the monument and memorial room to fallen VRS fighters in the centre of town, the memorial to killed Bosniaks from Alići and Ekići in Ekići, the shahid cemetery for killed Bosniaks from the Novi Grad/Bosanski Novi municipality in Blagaj Japra, the memorial for killed Serb civilians in Svodna and the memorial to killed Serb civilians and soldiers in Tunjice. We laid wreaths at the memorials and commemorated all the victims from the past war.
The visit also included a meeting and discussion with representatives of local authorities of the municipality, the Deputy Mayor Zoran Starčević and the Vice President of the Municipal Assembly Selim Ekić. They expressed their support to the idea of joint visits by war veterans to sites of suffering as an activity that leads to dialogue between former enemies, which is necessary to overcome the wounds of war and enable prosperity for future generations. They also thanked our joint group for this initiative, because it encouraged their fellow townsfolk to visit each other in places that evoke painful memories, which is something they see as a step towards reconciliation and a better life.