At the invitation of the Organising Committee to mark 25 years since the war crime against Bosniaks in Stupni Do near Vareš, war veterans from the region, former members of the Army of RBiH, HVO, VRS, HV, VJ and JNA, attended today’s commemoration dedicated to those killed in Stupni Do near Vareš. On 23 October 1993 (according to ICTY information in the case against Ivica Rajić), 32 civilians, including five children, were killed in Stupni Do, about five kilometres from Vareš. Multiple perpetrators have been convicted of this war crime. “It is my honour and pleasure to see members of what were once warring sides standing together here in Stupni Do to pay their respects to the victims. I am speechless, for me personally, this is a big thing and I feel I am speaking on behalf of all the people of Stupni Do. They can see that Bosniak victims from this village have not been forgotten and this group of veterans sends a message of never again and shows us the path we need to take,” said Emir Likić on behalf of the organising committee.
Since 2008, the peace organisation Centre for Nonviolent Action, with offices in Sarajevo and Belgrade, has been organising visits by groups of war veterans from Croatia, Serbia and BiH to sites of atrocities against civilians and soldiers committed in the recent war and to official commemorations honouring victims, organised by local and state authorities and victims’ associations.
“By coming to the commemoration, you come to terms with what happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina and you realise that individuals from all sides committed horrific crimes. Then you ask yourself whether we still have the humanity, the kindness to move forward. You wonder if you’ll have the strength to visit a place where members of your people committed a crime. Can each of us do that? We, war veterans, who came here to Stupni Do and pay our respects to the victims, we send a message to young people that despite everything that happened, we can live together,” said Mirko Zečević-Tadić, former member of HVO.
Under the organisation of the Centre for Nonviolent Action, 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, 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 came here on the day when the people of Stupni Do remember the greatest tragedy that befell this place. As war veterans and peace activists, we came to pay our respects to the victims of this horrific war crime. With compassion for the families of victims and their neighbours and friends, we want to send a message of peace and hope that it is possible to build new relations between people based on mutual trust and a common desire for good and solidarity among people,” said Amer Delić from the Centre for Nonviolent Action Sarajevo/Belgrade.
At the working meeting after the commemoration, the war veterans from the region were joined by the Mayor of Vareš Zdravko Marošević and the head imam of the Vareš Islamic Community Mejlis Ramiz ef. Zubača.
Media reports on the visit:
Dnevnik.ba
Radio televizija Tuzlanskog kantona
Etleboro