At the invitation of the Goražde Association of Prison Camp Survivors, and brought together by the Centre for Nonviolent Action, a mixed group of war veterans from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia, former members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), the Croatian Army (HV), and the Army of Yugoslavia (VJ) and peace activists from the region attended the commemoration for civilians killed in Lozje near Goražde.
On 22 May 1992, around 40 people, mainly civilians, including the elderly and children, were killed in an attack on the Goražde village of Lozje (Kokino Selo) by Territorial Defence units of the Serb Republic of BiH, i.e. the Army of Republika Srpska. Branislav Lasica and Miroslav Milović are being tried for this war crime before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The trial started in 2021, but a first instance judgement has not been handed down yet. Brane Petković, commander of the Territorial Defence Municipal Headquarters (OpŠTO) of the Serb Municipality of Goražde, also stands accused of war crimes in Lozje. The indictment against Petković has been confirmed at the Court of BiH, but the accused is at large, most likely in Serbia where he has citizenship. In mid-2022, the Court of BiH issued a warrant for his arrest and has previously stated that all correspondence with the accused is conducted via the BiH Ministry of Justice using international legal aid requests sent to competent authorities in the neighbouring country.
For the first time at the commemoration in Lozje, we have members of different armies from the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The message we send from this place is not just a message for our local community, but should reach much further. Building reconciliation must start somewhere. We must speak the truth, painful as it is, but it is our starting point. When people see how it was here today, who was in attendance, this will send a message of peace – said Muhamed Hećo, president of the Goražde Prison Camp Survivors Association.
In addition to representatives of victims’ families, the gathering in Lozje was also addressed by the Prime Minister of the Bosnian Podrinje Canton Goražde Edin Ćulov, the Mayor of Goražde Ernest Imamović, and the Goražde Mufti Remzija ef. Pitić. The speakers highlighted the importance of prosecuting those responsible for this crime, as well as the need for everyone to do more to help find the remains of the victims that have still not been found and identified.
Stemming from the need to honour all victims irrespective of their ethnic belonging, to grieve the loss of human lives and highlight the importance of recognising everyone’s suffering, for more than twenty years we have been visiting many sites of suffering, detention facilities, sites of executions, mass graves… We have attended more than 20 commemorations with a mixed group of war veterans and peace activists, and have continuously highlighted the importance of building a culture of memory that will foster respect, understanding and dialogue. Today, we will send the same message from Goražde about respect for all victims and solidarity with their families – said Tamara Zrnović, member of 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, and in Serbia in Grdelička klisura near Leskovac, Varvarin near Kruševac, Aleksinac, as well as in Croatia in Pakrac, Varivode and Gošić near Knin.
These visits always have a deep impact on me. Unfortunately, as in life, you always learn something new, including things that are not good. This is my first time in Goražde, the first time I have encountered the story of this crime and its effects, and I wonder, is there no end? And we haven’t even started working on a solution, I keep feeling like we haven’t made any progress – said Svetlana Janković, an activists and former member of the Army of Yugoslavia.