Guardians of Bosnia - Tuzla Region: Let the anniversary of the Kapija massacre remind us that peace is meaningless without justice!

(Patria) - The association Guardians of Bosnia - Tuzla Region issued a statement on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Kapija massacre.

"On this day, May 25, 1995, Tuzla lost its youth, and Bosnia was wounded in a place where life should have been celebrated. A shell fired from the positions of the Army of Republika Srpska, on the orders of Novak Đukić, hit Kapija – a gathering place for young people, a place of laughter, friendships, and first loves.

At that moment, 71 lives were extinguished. More than 200 young people were wounded. Smiles disappeared, plans were interrupted, days that were yet to come were stopped. We are left with crying mothers, silent fathers, empty chairs, unread letters, and unspoken words.

Kapija was not a military target. Kapija was a symbol of youth and joy, and on that evening, a deliberate, brutal crime against innocent civilians was committed there. The perpetrator, Novak Đukić, finally convicted by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, walks freely in Belgrade today, while the victims' families seek justice, and the state to which we belong remains silent.

Today, Guardians of Bosnia mournfully pay tribute to the innocent youth of Tuzla. This day is not just a day of remembrance, but also a day of warning. That we do not forget. That we do not allow the perpetrator to go unpunished, and the victims to be forgotten.

Kapija is not just a wound of Tuzla. It is a wound of all of Bosnia. And every stone there remembers the names of the innocently perished. It is up to us not to leave them to silence, not to drown them in oblivion.

We declare: let everyone know, especially those who celebrate murderers and erase the names of the innocent – Bosnia did not fall at Kapija. Bosnia rose from the blood of its youth and continued to walk upright, carrying their names in its heart.

Let this anniversary remind us of the price of freedom and the price of life in Bosnia. Let it teach us that peace is meaningless without justice, and justice has no value without truth.

May eternal peace and rest be granted to the souls of those murdered at Kapija. And for all of us, may this wound be a vow – never to forget and never to allow it to happen again", the statement read.