A group of peace activists and war veterans, former members of the Army of RBiH, the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), the Croatian Army (HV), the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), and the Army of Yugoslavia (VJ), joined families of the victims to visit sites of atrocities in Trusina and Stupni Do and laid flowers at both monuments to honour the victims.
For the first time, representatives of the two communities and families of victims visited both monuments and paid their respects to the victims on both sides.
The visit to Trusina and Stupni Do was conducted in the period from 23 to 25 May 2022. During the visit to these sites, almost three decades after the atrocities, there were conversations with returnees, meetings with local officials and religious representatives from both places; support was expressed for the associations of families of victims from both places and especially for their mutual cooperation.
”I would like to thank all those who mustered the strength and courage to come, to pay their respects to the people who were killed in Trusina. Even though a long time has passed since 1993, when the crime was committed, the lesson that war never brings anything good to anyone is still relevant. War brings only sorrow and pain and should stand as a warning to never allow such crimes to happen again to anyone,” said Dragica Tomić, president of the Konjic Association of Killed, Deceased and Missing Croatian Defenders of the Homeland War.
On Tuesday, 24 May 2022, we went to Trusina in the Konjic Municipality to visit and lay flowers at the memorial to the victims and we went to the local cemetery and church. According to the information of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 16 April 1993, in an attack by the Army of RBiH on Trusina, located some 20 kilometres from Konjic, 19 civilians and three captured members of the HVO were killed. A number of persons have been convicted for this war crime by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a trial against one of the accused is still ongoing.
“We are in the village of Trusina, a place where I feel defeated because the perpetrators of the crime that was committed here belong to the same army as me. It is all the more difficult because these units included people from my native Prijedor, so I feel additionally implicated because they came from my home region. This makes me feel the defeat of the identity that is also mine more keenly,” said Edin Ramulić, a veteran of ARBiH from Prijedor.
On Wednesday, 25 May 2022, we went to lay flowers at the memorial in Stupni Do and visit the local cemetery and mosque. On 23 October 1993 (according to ICTY information in the case against Ivica Rajić), Stupni Do, about five kilometres from Vareš, was attacked by HVO units and 32 civilians, including five children, were killed. Multiple perpetrators have been convicted of this war crime.
“For years now, we war veterans from different armies have been coming together to pay our respects at sites where innocent civilians were killed, and it is always hard, it’s hard to even talk about it. Especially at sites where the crime was committed by members of my group. These actions are intended above all to send a message of reconciliation, but we are also trying to get to the truth which is still being concealed. As veterans, we have a special responsibility to our children to seek reconciliation among people. I believe that is our path,” said Ivo Anđelović, an HVO veteran.
“Today, we have come to Stupni Do as part of an action for peace. I was glad to take up the invitation and I will always readily join visits to such sites, so that they are not forgotten and so that we somehow show people that it was all senseless. We need peace, we need human dignity, I need to be able to feel at home in Zagreb, Belgrade and Sarajevo. I hope initiatives like this one will yield results, I hope they will grow and that this work will be recognised for how important it is,” said Mustafa Kamenjaš, a family member of a victim from Stupni Do and a veteran of ARBiH.
Under the organisation of the Centre for Nonviolent Action, peace activists and war veterans from the region have attended commemorations in BiH in Gornji Vakuf, at Site 715 near Zavidovići, in Stog near Vozuća, in Novi Grad/Bosanski Novi, Sanski Most (Hrastova glavica), Sijekovac near Brod, Laništa near Brčko, Trusina near Konjic, Ahmići near Vitez, Grabovica, Uborak and Sutina near Mostar, Briševo and Zecovi near Prijedor, Korićanske stijene, Stupni Do near Vareš, Boderište near Brčko, the bridge over the Sava in Brčko, Bradina near Konjic, Skelani near Srebrenica, the Silow in Tarčin near Hadžići, and in Serbia in Grdelička klisura near Leskovac, Varvarin near Kruševac, Aleksinac, as well as in Croatia in Pakrac, Varivode and Gošić near Knin.
“We need to visit each other, go beyond the ethnic barriers that separate us and keep us penned in. It should be the most natural thing to express respect towards all victims and condemn all crimes committed in whosever name, because these are people, these are communities that are still marked by what happened to them. Visiting sites of suffering and meeting people from those communities, be they families of victims, political or religious representatives, you will never hear from them that one victim is considered more worthy than another. They all want every victim to be recognised and respected and they show understanding for others who have suffered. So, why are we stuck? Why has it been left to the non-governmental sector to organise encounters that will contribute to building trust between communities, why is there no state strategy for peacebuilding and paving the way to reconciliation? For how long will hatred be used to score political points? We need a stable society based on respect and solidarity. We can’t waste any more time on quarrelling. What we are trying to do is pave the way to a more just society,” said Amer Delić, a war veteran of the Army of RBiH and member of the Centre for Nonviolent Action.
The photo gallery is available HERE.