Memorial Center warns of ban on filming in the Pilica Cultural Center

(Patria) - The Srebrenica Memorial Center expresses concern over the decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska (MUP RS) to ban the planned filming of the interior of the Cultural Center in Pilica, Zvornik municipality.

This location carries deep historical and symbolic weight as one of the places where crimes against Bosniaks were committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995. The Cultural Center in Pilica was a place of detention and mass murder of 500 Bosniaks in July 1995, making it a key symbol of the genocide committed against Bosniaks in Podrinje.

"Cultural centers, schools, and other public facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which once served as spaces for education and social life, were turned into crime scenes during the war. The Cultural Center in Pilica bears witness to systematic violence, including detentions, torture, and mass executions," said the Director of the Memorial Center, Emir Suljagić.

During the planned visit, the expert team of the Memorial Center, along with external associates responsible for preparing one of the institution's exhibition displays, was prevented from carrying out filming activities. Although the competent institutions were informed of the plans, there was a sudden change of decision. Police officers, in accordance with new instructions, ordered the cessation of all activities and the departure from the location.

"We warn institutions that they are obliged to enable unimpeded work at such locations of key importance for documenting and researching genocide," Suljagić concludes.