Collective funeral for the martyrs of Zvornik: Vivid and painful evidence of mass crimes and genocide

(Patria) - In the Memorial Complex and martyr cemetery of Gornja Kalesija, a funeral prayer was held today for the martyrs killed in the Zvornik area during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Three victims were buried under the designation NN, and the fourth victim was Osman (Ibrahim) Osmanović, born in 1926 in Caparde, municipality of Kalesija. His remains were exhumed on July 1, 2024, at the Konjević Polje site, municipality of Bratunac.

The funeral prayer was led by the Mufti of Tuzla, Vahid-ef. Fazlović.

- I convey to you the condolences of the respected Reis-ul-ulema of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein-ef. Kavazović, especially to the family of the late Osman Osmanović, as well as to the families who are still searching for their missing loved ones.

These deceased, the martyrs in the coffins before us who still do not have a name and surname, can come from any of these families. And that is one of the proofs of mass crimes and the greatest crime of genocide, proof of how much disorder and strife has been sown in this country, in Podrinje and Zvornik - emphasized the Mufti.

He recalled the Quranic verses that mention the concept of testimony, emphasizing that martyrs have the highest degree of testimony.

- Therefore, these martyr cemeteries of ours will permanently stand as witnesses to the crimes committed in this country, to the atrocities of wicked people, merciless, hard-hearted people. And all of us are witnesses. Today, in this place, we collectively bear witness for the martyrs of Zvornik.

We bear witness to what happened on this day in 1992 in Bijeli Potok, when members of the Army of Republika Srpska, supported by another country, treacherously and savagely gathered Bosniaks, separated the men and boys, and killed 675 Bosniaks in this mass crime.



Despite Zvornik being a symbol of evidence of how massive the crimes against Bosniaks in Podrinje, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were, many perpetrators have still not been convicted. Therefore, we must persistently bear witness, stand upright, individually and collectively.

And are not the vivid and painful proofs indeed present in Zvornik, given that in this place, in numerous mass graves, lie the bodies of thousands of Bosniaks - said Mufti Fazlović.

In one mass grave alone at Crni Vrh, the bodies of about 600 Bosniaks were found. In Zvornik's Kamenica, 13 mass graves have been found so far containing the bodies of thousands of Bosniaks from all over Podrinje, Bosniaks who were killed in the genocide in Srebrenica and the wider area.

- We are all obliged to energetically do what is possible to prove the atrocities and achieve justice. This is a debt to our martyrs and their families, but also for this country and its future, for our children, our descendants, and all good people. Therefore, these martyr cemeteries of ours must be a mirror of our souls and our responsibility - concluded Mufti Fazlović.

After today's funeral, 800 martyrs of Zvornik have been buried in the Memorial Complex and martyr cemetery of Gornja Kalesija.

Ahmet Grahić, president of the Association of Families of Captured and Missing Persons of the Municipality of Zvornik, called on the families of missing persons to contact the competent institutions and donate blood in order to identify as many of the remains of the murdered Zvornik residents found so far as possible.

He again called on all those who know the locations of individual or mass graves to reveal their locations.

A search is still underway for 418 missing Bosniaks from the area of the municipality of Zvornik.