The peak of the monstrous crimes that were committed in Visegrad during the aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina occurred in the middle and end of June 1992, when people were burned alive in two locations in this city, in Pionirska street and on Bikavac.
Exactly 30 years ago today, more than 60 people were set on fire in the house of Adem Omeragić.
On June 14, 1992, a special military formation directly commanded by the criminal Milan Lukić, leader of the "White Eagles" or "Avengers", captured over 60 persons of Bosniak nationality in the Visegrad villages of Koritnik and Sase. It was about women, children and elderly people.
On June 13, 1992, a group of armed men, members of the special military formation of the criminal Milan Lukić, came to the village of Koritnik. They were Serbian soldiers from the surrounding villages who informed the Bosniaks that they had to leave their homes and that they would be deported to Kladanje, with the aim of exchanging them for the Serbs who remained in Kladanje, in the territory under the control of the RBIH Army.
They were told that the Serbs from Kladnje were planning to settle in the village of Koritnik. So one of the Serbian soldiers said to one of the surviving witnesses: "This is ethnic cleansing and you must leave here."
"On Sunday, June 14, Bosniaks from the village of Koritnik, joined by a certain number of Bosniaks from the village of Sase, set off together towards Višegrad. They continued to the SUP building and in front of the new hotel, from where they were escorted by Serbian soldiers to Pionirska Street in Višegrad. They were told that a convoy would arrive early the next morning to deport them from Višegrad," recalls Ermin Kuka, senior research associate at the Institute for Researching Crimes Against Humanity and International Law at the University of Sarajevo.
Burned them alive
They were abused and robbed, and a certain number of women were raped by the criminal Milan Lukić and his helpers. Then they took the captured civilians to the basement of Adem Omeragić's house in Pionirska Street.
"When they forced everyone into the room, the criminals closed the main door, and half an hour later they threw an explosive device into the room. People were burned alive, and those who tried to escape through one of the two windows were shot by the criminals, and everyone, except for eight people, burned alive or shot during attempts to rescue them from the live pyre. Of the eight survivors, two later died, Hasib Kurspahić and Edhem (Suljo) Kurspahić. The youngest victim of the live pyre was a two-day-old baby, who was not even named." , emphasizes Kuka.
The Trial Chamber of the Hague Tribunal found that Milan Lukić directly participated in moving the victims to the house of Adem Omeragić in Pionirska Street, that he was the one who closed the door, put an incendiary device in the room and thus set the house on fire, as well as that he shot the windows of the house . In the live bonfire in Pionirska street, the victims with the last name Kurspahić died the most, as many as 39 of them, all from the village of Koritnik.
In the city of living bonfires
Višegrad is a city of living pyres, a paradigm of the crime of burning civilians, a city where the most terrible crimes were committed, where the genocide against Bosniaks was committed, Kuka emphasizes.
"The memory and memory of the crime of burning civilians in Pionirska Street, but also of other live pyres in the Visegrad area, should be a message from the surviving victims to all who have information, to break the vow of silence and tell where the remains of the burned Bosniak civilians are. Every victim, regardless of nationality , ethnic or religious group she belonged to, deserves to know and mark the place of her eternal rest. This will also mean rest to the survivors, to know where their loved ones are buried," says Kuka.
Assoc. Ph.D. Ermin Kuka is the author of the scientific monograph "Living Bonfire – Pioneer Street in Višegrad (June 14, 1992)" published by the Association "Woman – Victim of War", which was published in May of this year.
"The goal of the monograph is to offer scientific truth and be the best weapon with which to fight so that the speech of all the innocent Bosniak civilians burned alive in the house of Adem Omeragić in Pionirska Street in Višegrad on June 14, 1992 is not forgotten. It is also an appeal to end the long-standing the vow of silence of the perpetrators of the heinous crime of burning Bosniak civilians in Višegrad and all neighbors of Višegrad citizens of Serbian nationality. It was impossible to commit such a heinous and monstrous crime, carefully planned, coordinated and organized, without only a few of the direct perpetrators knowing about it. Because, while the Serbian people in Višegrad, but also all of Bosnia and Herzegovina, if he does not look himself in the eye and admit that the period from 1992-1995 is the darkest period of Serbian history, if he is ashamed of it, repents and issues a public apology, there is no luck for anyone in these spaces," says Kuka.
Cruel criminals
The burnings of Bosniak civilians in Pionirska Street and Bikavac (June 26, 1992) were characterized by the judges of the Hague Tribunal as the worst examples of the inhumane actions of one man towards another, pointing out that "in the entire too long and too sad history of human misery and inhumanity of man to man, the arson in Pionirska street and on Bikavac must occupy a high place. Towards the end of the 20th century, marked by wars and bloodshed on a gigantic scale, these horrific events are etched in memory because of the particular cruelty required for an attack by arson, because of the obvious premeditation and calculation inherent in it, and for the sheer callousness, monstrosity and brutality of herding and locking the victims in two trap houses, rendering them helpless in the ensuing inferno, as well as the degree of pain and suffering inflicted on the victims who were burned alive."
A number of indictments were brought for the commission of crimes against humanity and international law in the area of Visegrad. So far, a total of 18 criminals have been sentenced. Of that number, three were convicted at the Hague Tribunal. In total, 241 years of imprisonment were sentenced, and one life sentence, to Milan Lukić. The convicted criminals are: Milan Lukić, the leader of the "White Eagles", who was caught in Argentina in 2005, was sentenced by the ICTY to life imprisonment. Criminal Sredoje Lukić, 27 years old. Mitar Vasiljević 15 years (after serving 2/3 of his sentence he was released and received a hero's welcome in Višegrad, with a prepared and organized welcome), Momir Savić 17 years, Boban Šimšić 14 years, Željko Lelek 16 years, Novo Rajak 8 years, Nenad Tanasković 8 years, Predrag Milisavljević 20 years, Miloš Pantelić 15 years, Petar Kovačević 9 years, Oliver Krsmanović 18 years, Dragan Šekarić 17 years, Vitomir Racković 10 years, Vuk Ratković 8 years (with payment of damages to the victim he raped in the amount of 35,000 KM ), Radomir Šušnjar 20 years old, Petar Tasić 5 years old and Momir Tasić 14 years old.