The invitation to visit Novi Grad with a group of war-veterans on the occasion of a commemoration to mark the day of defence of western Krajina municipalities of Republika Srpska[1], 18 September, came during our last Training for War-Veterans from a veteran in this town and member of the local BORS. He told us that this event is under the patronage of the entity[2] and that our presence will require the approval and support of the local veterans association. He also said that the event is regional in character and that it is co-organised by the municipalities of Kozarska Dubica and Kostajnica, which together with Novi Grad take turns hosting the central event every two years.
We were glad to receive the invitation because it was the first time we got the chance to participate at an official event organised in RS. We wanted to attend an event that is important not just locally, but to the wider Serb community. We saw the attendance of our joint group of war-veterans to honour the victims as a symbolic act of reconciliation that would remind those present of the humanity of former enemies.
We made arrangements for the visit over the summer. However, due to the difficult situation following the floods in this area, the very holding of the event came into question, so we decided to set up a smaller group of war-veterans from BiH since it was clear that we would probably have to decide about going “at the last minute”.
It was only a few days before the event that we were informed that the central ceremony would be held in Novi Grad. We received an official invitation on 16 September. We decided to gather the night before in Prijedor that is some thirty kilometres from Novi Grad.
During our stay in Prijedor, we met with the Vice-Chairman of the Municipal Board of the RS Veterans Organisation and presented our activities with war-veterans. There was also talk about the need to promote new ides in this town and we agreed to meet again in order to arrive at more formal arrangements between our group and the Prijedor veterans organisation.
We arrived in Novi Grad in the morning and visited the BORS offices. The present members of the association welcomed us and said we had to set off towards Tunjica right away where the event would begin, inviting us to meet with them again in their offices afterwards.
In Tunjica, a settlement on the outskirts of Novi Grad, there is a Memorial to civilians and soldiers killed during the attack of the Croatian Army on 18 September 1995[3]. On the plateau in front of the monument, a semicircle comprised a military brass band, an honorary guard, children in national dress and numerous officials, as well as people in charge of organising the event. Between them and the monument stood the clerics. In the background were numerous gathered citizens that we also joined. The atmosphere was solemn, without the usual kitsch and prominent national symbols that accompany events such as this one. Moderate is perhaps the best way to describe it. The host of the programme announced the start of the event with introductory remarks about the importance of fostering the legacy of the liberation-defence war. After that, the priests lit the candles and led the congregation in prayer to commemorate the victims. Before flowers and wreathes were laid at the monument, we informed the protocol service that we should be announced as a mixed group of war-veterans. We were soon approached by another man from the protocol service who told us in no uncertain terms that “HVO will not be laying any wreaths here”. Thinking that the problem was with the sign on the ribbon saying “This wreath is from the war-veterans of VRS, HVO and Army of BiH,” we agreed to remove the ribbon and continued to prepare for laying the wreath. However, the same man came up to us again and told us we would not be allowed to lay the wreath within the official programme.
To the bars of a requiem, the host called the official delegations to lay the wreaths: the delegate of the President of RS, the delegations of the Government and National Assembly or RS, the Consul General of Serbia in RS and the delegation of the Novi Grad Municipality.
Next to be called were the joint delegation comprising representatives of the Republika Srpska Veterans Organisation, the Organisation of Families of Captured and Killed Soldiers and Missing Civilians, the Association of Prison Camp Survivors of Srpska and the Disabled Veterans Association of RS, the Federation of Veterans Organisations from the Peoples’ Liberation War (SUBNOR) and the Association of Civilian War Victims and the Third Infantry Platoon of the BiH Armed Forces in Republika Srpska. All others were called to lay their wreaths after that, but were not mentioned by name. They included representatives of political parties and various associations.
We laid our wreath and honoured the victims only after the official programme had ended. We were the only ones left standing in front of the monument, apart from the technicians taking down the sound system and flags. Were were all a bit confused and upset, and especially the Serb veterans who felt embarrased.
The central commemoration of the event was to take place in Novi Grad, in front of the “Memorial to fallen fighters of Novi Grad in the defence-homeland war”.
Before the start of the programme, we visited the veterans association and spent time in informal conversation. Due to activities for the event in their home town, our hosts could not hold a working meeting with us. They were simply too busy and apologised.
The central event was similar to the previous commemoration, but it included a mass for the dead held at the Temple of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul located next to the memorial. Apart from many citizens, the commemoration was attended by a large number of pupils from primary and secondary schools. The host of the programme was the same, but this time he started the programme with a fiery reading of verses from a to me unknown poem. Everything echoed with the thundering message directed at eternal enemies.
The situation with our delegation repeated itself, so that we were able to lay our wreath at this memorial and honour the victims only after the official part of the programme had been concluded. In the meantime, one of the members of our group, a veteran from Šamac was approached by a police officer who asked to see his ID papers. After noting down his ID information, the police officer left. We looked at each other, our smiles souring.
The veterans association from Novi Grad did not lay their wreath within the official programme because, as we heard, the protocol service refused to put them among the official delegations.
Both we and the Novi Grad veterans association can use this experience in the future. We want to continue our cooperation and introduce them in detail to our work and our actions to date, as well as the purpose of these joint visits. Also, we want to be better prepared for events organised under the auspices of the Government or other institutions. Some things should probably be arranged beforehand and include official requests so that the organiser can make a timely decision. In that case, protocol officers will also have to act in accordance with previously reached agreements.
At the end, we held a meeting of our group in order to exchange impressions and we concluded that this event did no cause problems among us. It did not make us happy, but it did not discourage us either. We see this experience as a possible scenario that may repeat itself in the future within our activities that we definitely want to continue.
[1] The official title of the event is “Commemoration of the defence of the western borders of Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina from Croatian aggression”.
[2] The event is organised by the “Republika Srpska Government Committee for Fostering the Traditions of Liberation Wars”
[3]On 18 September 1995, at this place, members of the Croatian Army crossed the river Una, 57 people, citizens of the Novi Grad Municipality were killed. Of that number, 37 were civilians, 18 were VRS soldiers and 2 were members of the RS police forces.