The commemorative gathering in front of the Herceg Novi Security Centre at noon on 25 May 2024 marked 32 years since the war crime committed against Bosniak civilians originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Centre for Nonviolent Action Sarajevo-Belgrade organised a group of peace activists and war veterans from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia to attend the commemoration.
According to available official documentation, in May 1992 the Montenegrin police apprehended and detained at least 66, and according to unofficial data over a hundred Bosniak civilians aged 18 to 66 who had taken refuge in Montenegro after fleeing the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is assumed that the Montenegrin authorities handed them over like hostages to Bosnian Serb military and civilian authorities. One group of refugees was sent from Herceg Novi on 25 May 1992 to the Foča Prison, and only a handful of them survived the horrors of that camp. Another group was handed over on 27 May 1992. Not all of the remains of the victims from the second group have been recovered and there is no reliable information on their whereabouts.
Following a four-year trial, Montenegro paid damages to the victims’ families due to illegal actions by the Montenegrin police that had tragic consequences. The illegal apprehension and hand-over of the hostages was determined in a judgement delivered in criminal proceedings in Montenegro and in the ICTY judgement in the case against Milorad Krnojelac, the commander of the detention camp in Foča. However, the criminal proceedings conducted in Montenegro did not result in any sentences because the court introduced the requirement that the accused “had to have belonged to an organisation of a side in the conflict or have acted in the service of a side in the conflict in order to bear responsibility for a war crime” and concluded that Montenegro was not a side in the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Alen Bajrović, son of Osmo Bajrović who was taken prisoner on 25 May 1992 in Herceg Novi and has been missing since, points out that the terms “arrest” and “deportation” are inadequate. As he says, an arrest requires a warrant, and in this case people were abducted and taken prisoner solely on the basis of their identity and origin. The term “deportation” is used to shift responsibility for the murder of the people who were taken prisoner to someone outside Montenegro. The Bajrović family is the only family that refused a court settlement and they have continued their legal battle.
Bajrović points out that the families are conducting their fight for truth and justice in a civilised manner and on several fronts. This includes a legal battle that would result in establishing all the circumstances of the detention and disappearance of his father and others, the prosecution of those responsible for the war crime and for covering it up, a struggle to have a monument erected on the premises of the police station in Herceg Novi, as well as refusal to stay silent about this crime.
My battle is in all directions. You coming here, that is also part of my battle. You’ve all heard this truth today, and you will pass it on to people in your homes and to your friends, someone will write about it, and this will spread the circle of truth about this crime, said Alen Bajrović.
For 20 years, Montenegrin NGOs: Human Rights Action (HRA), Centre for Civic Education (CCE) and ANIMA – Center for Peace and Women’s Education, have been working with the victims’ families to organise this commemorative gathering, and for 15 years they have been gathering in front of the Police Administration building in Herceg Novi, from which most of the victims were forcibly taken and handed over.
War veterans, together with peace activists and reporters from the region, attended the commemoration in Herceg Novi for the first time, they laid flowers and paid their respects to the victims. They gave their support and joined initiatives to install a memorial for the victims of the crime and establish a Day of Remembrance, and have appealed for those who ordered, inspired and executed the crime to be found and prosecuted.
For years, the main demand of the families was for an investigation to be conducted that would determine the details of who ordered the abductions, whether the abductees were deported and who ordered their deportation, where they were taken and killed and where their remains may be found. Unfortunately, three decades have passed but many of these questions remain unanswered and we came here to lend our support to these families in getting answers. We believe that by respecting and recognising the suffering and pain of others, showing solidarity with all victims, through understanding and dialogue, we are contributing to a culture of memory that will rebuild lost trust and serve as a foundation for lasting peace in this region, to ensure that crimes are never repeated again, said Radomir Radević from the Centre for Nonviolent Action.
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 Silo in Tarčin near Hadžići, Lozje near Goražde, Rogatica, and in Serbia in Grdelička klisura near Leskovac, Varvarin near Kruševac, Aleksinac, as well as in Croatia in Pakrac, Varivode and Gošić near Knin.
As with many actions to date, it is very important that we are here in Herceg Novi because these are distressing and tragic facts from the past testifying to the horrors of war, the loss of lives and human suffering. It is important that such events are not forgotten, that we learn from them and remember them to ensure that similar tragedies never happen again. It is very important to continue the legal battle and seek moral responsibility for such crimes, because this is crucial for justice and reconciliation. It is important that we remember the lives of the victims and that we learn from the past in order to build a future without violence or conflicts,” said Svetlana Janković, a peace activist from Čačak.
