BIJELI POTOK Anniversary of one of the largest massacres of Bosniaks from Zvornik, some families lost all male members

(Patria) - A delegation of the executive and legislative authorities of the Tuzla Canton attended the commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of the mass crime against Bosniak civilians in Zvornik, laying flowers at the Memorial in Bijeli Potok and paying tribute to the victims of the crime.

The delegation included the President of the Tuzla Canton Assembly Žarko Vujović, Prime Minister Irfan Halilagić, and the Minister of Labour, Social Policy and Return Fadil Alić, Minister of Economy Edin Duraković, and Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry Fedahija Ahmetović.

“Everything we are building and doing today will have no value if any facility, any project or institution, ever serves the purpose for which such places existed at the beginning of the war. A purpose that then meant gathering, assembling, and separating civilians – men, who were later taken to their deaths. God forbid we ever build something that could serve that purpose. Here, from the very beginning of the aggression, the intention was clear – to separate male family members and for their fate to be death. This must be talked about. Because everything that happened after June 1, 1992, culminated in the genocide in Srebrenica in 1995,” said Prime Minister Halilagić on this occasion, thanking the families who persevere in the fight for truth and justice.

“We are here to support you in that fight, and as much as we can, to persevere together – never forgetting the victims and never giving up on the truth about what happened here,” emphasized Prime Minister Halilagić.

In the presence of victims' families, survivors, officials, and numerous citizens, tribute was paid to the victims with an appeal on the importance of truth and remembrance.

The importance of institutional support for all projects that contribute to preserving memory, the dignity of victims, and building a society based on justice and mutual respect was emphasized.

In the crime in Bijeli Potok, members of the VRS killed 675 men and boys from several villages in the Zvornik municipality who were separated from their families and then killed. Their bodies were found in several mass graves across Podrinje.

Around 200 victims are still being searched for.

No one has been adequately held accountable for this crime yet. Although some trials have been conducted before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the victims' families are still waiting for justice. Many mothers did not even live to see the beginning of the trials, not knowing where the bones of their children were. This horrific event is rarely spoken about, and anniversaries are mostly commemorated with families and survivors.

All male members were killed in some families. Some family lines were broken, with four or five sons, fathers, killed.