At the invitation of the organiser — the veterans association “Goranovi” from Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje — and with the support of the Centre for Non-violent Action (CNA), war veterans from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia visited this town in Central Bosnia and attended the commemoration “In Memory of Commander Goran Ćišić” traditionally organised on 21 December.
In the overflowing hall of the Centre for Education and Culture, those gathered were addressed by Ibrahim Topčić, President of the “Goranovi” association who delivered the introductory speech and read out the names of killed and deceased fellow fighters.
The mention of the presence of war veterans from the region working on promoting peace and activists from the Centre for Non-violent Action (CNA) was greeted by a long applause of support.
Adnan Hasanbegović was invited to speak on behalf of CNA, and he explained the idea behind the veterans visiting each other for commemorative events, jointly marking significant dates from the wartime past as symbolically important for building peace and seeking a common culture of memory, as well as overcoming hatred as an obstacle to freedom.
Pupils from the town took part in the cultural and artistic part of the programme. They gave their seal to this event by performing the musical “Hair” and sending an anti-war message to express the desire of young people from the town to live freely and build a future on the foundations of peaceful coexistence with all people from the region.
After the official part of the commemoration, the veterans continued their stay with the hosts.
Unfortunately, like many towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje is a divided town, and the commemoration was supported by only one part of the town.
We hope that there will come a time when divided towns become a thing of the past and when events such as this one will include all people irrespective of their background. This is something we from CNA hope to contribute to.
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