First the Right Way

| Radomir Radević |

The two monuments are separated by the main street in the old town of Jajce. Both symbolically and physically separated, the one to fallen fighters of ARBiH next to a mosque, the other to fallen HVO fighters, across the street,… ...

7. October 2019

Through its rich history, many armies have passed through Jajce, the Roman armies, the medieval Bosnian armies, Ottoman, Hungarian, Austro-Hungarian, German, Partisan, Yugoslav, all the way up to Serb, Croat, Bosniak… They came to attack or defend, conquer or liberate, they came to fight wars. One opposing the other, one against the other. On 24 September 2019, veterans of different armies came to Jajce. But this time it was different, there were important differences. These veterans walked together, not against each other, for the first time in Jajce they were facing a common enemy, war itself.

Organised by the Centre for Nonviolent Action Sarajevo/Belgrade (CNA), on 24 September 2019, a mixed group of war veterans, some 40 former members of the Army of RBiH, HVO, HV, VRS, JNA and VJ visited sites of suffering and memorials in Jajce, laid wreaths and paid their respects to the victims. Since 2008, CNA has been organising visits by groups of war veterans from Croatia, Serbia and BiH to sites where civilians and soldiers were killed in the past war. To date, some 20 or so visits were organised in partnership with veterans’ associations from each place visited. The visit to Jajce was organised in cooperation with the municipal branch of RVI ARBiH Jajce, HVIDR Jajce and the Jajce Association of Volunteers and Veterans of the Homeland War.

For the first time, the hosts of our visit were Bosniaks and Croats together, the two veterans’ associations acting as hosts together. Together with a group of peace activists, the veterans visited the central memorials commemorating killed members of the Army of RBiH and HVO, an unmarked site of the killing of Serb civilians in Bravice, a memorial for killed Bosniak civilians in Jezero (in Republika Srpska) and a monument to killed soldiers of HV at Plivsko Lake and of HVO at Ćaćino Polje.

We Are Starting a Conversation

War veterans from different armies together laid wreaths at both monuments in the centre of Jajce, for the first time. The two monuments are separated by the main street in the old town of Jajce. Both symbolically and physically separated, the one to fallen fighters of ARBiH next to a mosque, the other to fallen HVO fighters, across the street, under a large cross. Together, the veterans paid their respects to both, thus bringing these two physically and symbolically separate monuments together. The fact that they are both victims and that both should be honoured as such together erased, at least in those moments, all the differences, reconciling all animosities.

“Today, we live here together and I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet veterans from the region and tell them about the suffering of Jajce and about our return to this city. I think we sent a positive message… I am encouraged by positive comments from my fellow citizens of Jajce. I think things would significantly improve with more frequent and meaningful contacts between veterans’ associations in Jajce and the region, this would do a lot to dispel tensions, and it is important that we start talking to each other,” said Nazif Kahrić, a veteran of MUP RBiH and the Army of RBiH, one of our hosts in Jajce.

The group of war veterans was greeted warmly at the municipality building by the President of the Municipal Council of Jajce Ivo Šimunović and the mayor’s advisor Sedin Hadžić. Local government representatives welcomed the idea of joint visits and honouring all victims and expressed their readiness for further cooperation and more active involvement in peacebuilding. The discussion that followed at the meeting also called for politicians to use their influence to encourage their colleagues from other towns to visit each other’s monuments. The readiness of local government officials in Jajce to discuss these issues and propose concrete solutions encourages us and gives us hope that we can now expect more intensive cooperation and support from them in the future.

From Distance between Enemies to Closeness between People

For the first time war veterans laid wreaths and paid their respects to killed Serb civilians in the village of Bravnice, where in September 1995, according to the victims’ association, 81 civilians were killed. Nadežda Janković, one of the survivors, joined the veterans.

“At the front of the civilian convoy retreating from Donji Vakuf was a bus that was first hit by a shell and then they started shooting at helpless civilians. There were only civilians in the convoy and according to our information, units of the Croatian Army were the ones that launched the attack. We are calling for the prosecution of those responsible, we do not blame an entire people and we always point out that the first to come to our aid were members of the local HVO who administered first aid and transported the wounded to the hospital,” Nadežda Janković pointed out.

Bravnice are still an unmarked site of suffering that a group of activists supported by CNA temporarily marked in 2018 and called on the local authorities to install a permanent sign. They also called for this crime, for which no one has yet been held responsible, to be prosecuted in court.

Only some twenty kilometres away, in the direction of Mrkonjić Grad, lies Jezero, a place where members of VRS killed over 50 Bosniak civilians, mostly elderly people who did not manage to leave their village. According to Mirsad Omerović from the Citizens’ Association 3rd June, the remains of 30 people have not yet been found; the commanders of this crime have never been brought to justice, while four former soldiers from VRS units are serving jail sentences for committing this crime. For the first time, war veterans from different armies laid wreaths at the memorial in Jajce, and according to the works of our host, it was the first time that any kind of “mixed delegation” had come to Jezero to pay its respects.

The distance between Bravnice and Jezero, though in kilometres much greater than the one between the central monuments in Jajce, seemed in those moments to have also disappeared. We would like to thank Nadežda and Mirsad for their courage and willingness to speak at these sites of suffering, without condemning whole peoples for the crimes, but calling for the prosecution of individuals and for finding the remains of victims. They helped collapse the seemingly unbridgeable distance between these places and bring people, in this case Serbs and Bosniaks, closer together through an act of joint respect for all victims. From remote positions of enemies towards the closeness of neighbours.

Women War Veterans on the Way to Reconciliation

For the first time during our visit to Jajce, the mixed group of war veterans included women war veterans. In the group of some forty war veterans, men, two women war veterans had the courage and dignity to show the importance and necessity of women, especially those who had participated in war, taking a role in peacebuilding.

“This is an opportunity to see people from other sides and hear their experience. To talk with them. It is hard to look over the long lists of names, whatever the ethnicity of the victims. Especially when it comes to unmarked sites of suffering… And that is why I say we take small steps on the way to reconciliation, but we must not give up. There is a lack of responsibility in this area. We should not rest until all perpetrators and criminals are brought to face justice. Whatever their nation, belonging, whatever the type of violence and crime. Until we do this, there will be no peace,” Svetlana Janković, a veteran of JNA, VJ, VSICG, expressed her motivation for participating in veterans’ visits.

We would like to thank Fikreta and Svetlana for their courage and willingness to join us and we believe their example will lead more women veterans to joint our actions in the future.

Media representatives also actively participated in the visit. A number of TV crews and reporters from the region accompanied the group of veterans on its visits to monuments and sites of suffering in Jajce and attended the group’s meetings. We hope that greater media coverage will not only increase the visibility of our actions in region, but also help spread and point out the importance of our mission. We would like the thank the media for their fair and professional contribution. The number and quality of reports and articles encourages us in continuing our practice of more intensive inclusion of the media.

Right Way

There were many firsts in Jajce that day. Is everything that happened for the first time also the right way? To make the first step, to start something the first time, to visit a site of suffering together for the first time and honour the victims is a courageous act worthy of respect. Of course, there is also the issue of whether that way is also the right way?

We are encouraged by the support and words of gratitude from our hosts and local government representatives. They are motivation to persevere.

“We have to deal with the past and look to the future, we have to create a better future at least for our children. I am personally invested in this and I hope most people who have participated in the war will think this is the way we should go. Today we visited memorials to young people who were killed and when I stand before any of those monuments, I can only say that I mourn that loss of life and hope that something like that will never happen again,” said Darko Samardžić, president of HVIDR Jajce and one of our hosts.

The messages and words of gratitude from people from Jezero, from media representatives, as well as the gratitude and trust we received from Nadežda Janković give us hope that more and more people will be encouraged to join us in our efforts.

The photo gallery is available HERE

Media reports:

https://www.portalnovosti.com/zasjedanje-veterana-u-jajcu

https://www.bir.ba/index.php/vijesti/drustvo/item/9105-izlozba-i-tribina-rat-sjecanja-i-zajednicka-posjeta-ratnih-veterana-jajcu

https://jajce-online.com/2019/09/18/izlozba-rat-sjecanja-iposjeta-ratnih-veterana-jajcu/

http://www.fena.ba/article/1108062/izlozba-i-tribina-rat-sjecanja-i-zajednicka-posjeta-ratnih-veterana-jajcu

https://startbih.ba/clanak/izlozba-i-tribina-rat-sjecanja-i-zajednicka-posjeta-ratnih-veterana-jajcu/114021

https://www.6yka.com/novosti/ratni-veterani-kao-mirovni-aktivisti-izlozba-u-jajcu-pod-nazivom-rat-sjecanja-foto

https://jajce-online.com/2019/09/23/bivsi-borci-sve-tri-vojske-u-bih-obilaze-mjesta-stradanja-u-jajcu-dolazimo-u-miru-podsjecamo-na-stradanja-upozoravamo-da-se-ne-bi-ponovilo/

https://www.klix.ba/vijesti/bih/ratni-veterani-otvaraju-izlozbu-u-jajcu-pod-nazivom-rat-sjecanja/190923046

https://www.bljesak.info/info-vodic/otvorenje-izlozbe-i-konferencije-rat-sjecanja/4801

https://www.mreza-mira.net/vijesti/razno/izlozba-fotografija-rat-sjecanja-u-jajcu/