Lendo attended the commemoration of the 32nd anniversary of the crimes against Bosniaks in Nevesinje

(Patria) - FBiH Vice President Refik Lendo attended today in the village of Kljuna near Nevesinje the commemoration of the 32nd anniversary of the crimes against Bosniaks in Nevesinje.

- On a sad and painful occasion, we gathered today in Nevesinje to mark the 32nd anniversary of the crimes against Bosniaks and other non-Serb population of this region. Murders, rapes, and detentions, which this region witnessed during 1992 and until the end of the aggression, international law has qualified as crimes against humanity and war crimes. The aggressor sent hundreds of Bosniaks, as well as members of other ethnic groups and confessions, to their deaths.

To the surviving victims and the families of the victims, I express my sincere condolences for the evil done to them and the loss they have suffered. We cannot bring back those who were killed, but with respect and gratitude, we will cherish their memory. We will tell the generations to come about them as people, as fellow citizens, as friends, and neighbors. They will continue to live through us.

The monument beside which we stand today speaks of sacrifice, speaks of the evil that attacked us, but also of the courage to fight, defend, survive, and to testify about it before international and domestic courts, and today at this commemoration.

It is our obligation to find the missing, to restore dignity to every victim, and for every family to have the opportunity to bury their loved ones and to know the location of their graves. Every victim and every victim's family has one more right. The right to justice," Lendo stated.

In Nevesinje, numerous crimes against humanity and many other war crimes were committed. Only one conviction has been issued. I take this opportunity to call on the competent authorities to take all measures and actions within their jurisdiction to establish criminal responsibility of the masterminds and perpetrators. The prosecution and the court have an obligation to be the voice of those who are no more and to deliver justice to the victims and their families.

"To the generations to come, I say that the state has no alternative and that the interests of the state have no opposition. Their obligation is to continue building Bosnia and Herzegovina as a modern, democratic, and European state for all its citizens and peoples, but they also have an obligation to preserve from oblivion the sacrifice of Bosniaks, Nevesinje, and the sacrifice of Bosniaks throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina," said Vice President Lendo in his address.

In the Nevesinje area, 305 Bosniaks and 14 Croats were killed in June and July 1992. Among the killed were 26 children. The youngest victim was only seven days old, and the oldest was 92 years old.

Numerous victims were found in mass graves and pits, and dozens of them are still being searched for.