It is our duty to remember, to speak, write and document crimes, because we are here to be the voice of the victim and the voice of the truth. Our gathering today is the fight for the truth, as the highest scientific and civilizational value - said today in his address on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the crimes committed against Bosniaks in Višegrad, Assoc. Ph.D. Ermin Kuka, senior research associate at the Institute for Research on Crimes against Humanity and International Law.
He emphasized that today's gathering is a form of remembrance of all our Bosniaks of Visegrad who were innocently killed on genocidal grounds.
- In the cases at the Hague Tribunal against the criminals Milan Lukić and Sredoj Lukić, the judges stated that: "Višegrad was subjected to one of the most ruthless campaigns of ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian conflict... Within a few weeks, almost the entire non-Serb population was cleansed from the municipality of Višegrad! " In the explanation of the verdict against the criminal Milan Lukić, it was emphasized that all the terrible crimes against Bosniaks, especially the burning of civilians, stand out for the depravity of the fire attacks, the obvious calculation and sheer recklessness and cruelty", and "for the degree of pain and suffering inflicted on the victims while they were burned alive," he said.
He added that "the recent practice of the Hague Tribunal, as well as the domestic courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cases of war crimes committed in the area of Višegrad, indicated that these crimes, especially the crimes of burning Bosniak civilians alive at the stake, were carefully planned and prepared, and all with the aim of completely destroying the identity of the Bosniak people, thus becoming an important evidence and basis for the international and Bosnia-Herzegovina condemnation of the genocidal and criminal Greater Serbian ideology in today's time and context".
- While almost the whole world condemned the Serbian crimes committed against the Bosniaks of Višegrad in the harshest and most rigorous manner, on the other hand, in the city of Višegrad itself, efforts are being made to permanently deny, falsify, minimize and erase the traces of crimes. Today in Višegrad, Serbian criminals who have been sentenced with finality are celebrated as heroes and saviors of Serbia, murals are drawn and busts erected in their honor, they have a great reputation in the bazaar and society - Kuka pointed out.
He reminded that Visegrad went through hell in 1992, and that much of what the Russians are doing today in Ukraine through aggression was carried out in the small area of Visegrad.
- I will only remind you of the fact that on January 12, 1993, Russian volunteers (Cossacks) who fought on the side of Serbian armed formations attacked the village of Tvrtkovići. The attack was commanded by Aleksandar Zagrebov. The operation on the village of Tvrtkovići was called "scorched earth". The village was completely looted and burned. It is indicative that, according to the recent statement of one of the commanders of the Ukrainian army, the Russian army in the invasion of Ukraine began to apply precisely the "scorched earth" tactic in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Therefore, they used that tactic in early 1993 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, using the example of a much smaller populated place - said Kuka.
He emphasized that "it is a sad fact that only the criminal Milan Lukić has so far been legally sentenced for the crime of burning Bosniak civilians alive in Bikavac on June 27, 1992".
- It was impossible that only one man could do it, prepare everything and implement it. According to the statement of the only survivor, Zehra Turjačanin, the criminal said: "Give me more Muslims" in order to burn as many of them as possible - he said.
In total, 19 Serb criminals were sentenced to 246 years in prison, including one life sentence, for crimes committed against Bosniaks in Višegrad. Eight verdicts are for the crime of rape and sexual abuse of Bosniak women in Višegrad. Of the 19, only one admitted his guilt, and the others persistently, despite all the evidence, denied that they participated in the crimes.
- Because of this, today we have a situation where, even after 31 years, the remains of many murdered Visegrad Bosniaks are being searched for. A large number of them have never been found and properly buried. The Serb neighbors in Visegrad, who lived here during that period and witnessed all those events, do not want to break their long-standing shameful vow of silence even after so long. They do not want to say and reveal what happened to the remains of the victims. In this way, they themselves become part of the machinery that, even in times of peace, tries to implement everything that was not fully implemented through aggression. And that is to make Višegrad an exclusively Serbian city, where nothing in it will remind of the Bosniaks, of the Bosniak identity that was the basis of the development of the city and the pre-war multi-ethnic being - emphasized Kuka.
He pointed to the fact that the radical changes in the demographic structure of the population in Visegrad during and after the aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina were a direct consequence and result of the aggression and the committed genocide against Bosniaks. There are 12,428 Bosniaks today, or 92.3% less than in 1991.
- Insecurity, frequent physical attacks on people who have returned to their pre-war hearths, threats and discrimination in various fields, and especially in the denial of identity characteristics of Bosniaks and their constant propaganda dehumanization have a negative effect on the already small number of Bosniaks in Visegrad. In peace, therefore, the continuity of breaking the state and society continued with other methods, different forms of pressure, discrimination and segregation. Even the amendment of the Criminal Code did not stop the denial of genocide. Ultimately, all of the above does not bring anything good for the population in general, regardless of the national sign, which can be seen from certain demographic indicators that are present today - said, among other things, Kuka.