Minister Osmanović visits Žepa: We will continue to support this heroic place

(Patria) - Heroic Žepa, an epithet this place in the far east of Bosnia and Herzegovina rightfully bears, was visited by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs of Sarajevo Canton, Omer Osmanović, and the Director of the Public Institution "Memorial Fund of KS" Ahmed Kulanić.

A wartime enclave, which witnessed genocide in 1995, often neglected and forgotten today, Žepa is a place where returnees who have not given up on their homes have rebuilt their lives.

The reason for the visit was the projects supported by the Ministry for Veterans' Affairs of KS and the Memorial Fund, and their implementation in Žepa. This was also an opportunity to find solutions to certain problems faced daily through interaction with the returnees.

“In the previous period, through memory culture projects and nurturing the defense-liberation period, we provided support to the Majlis of the Islamic Community Žepa, wanting to actively participate in the reconstruction projects of every corner of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We will not stop there, as we will jointly work on the realization of projects in the village of Putići, the martyrs' cemetery in Žepa, and the renovation of existing monuments in the area of Žepa in the coming period. I hope that in the future more and more returnees will call Žepa their home, and it is up to us to work on that. Today's visit is the result of joint efforts to ensure that oblivion does not overcome memory, and I am glad that we can support projects that nurture the culture of remembrance, which we are leaving primarily to the returnees in Žepa, but also to the generations to come,” stated Minister Osmanović.

During the aggression, Žepa lost many martyrs, but also heroes whom we do not forget and whom we remember. One of them is certainly Avdo Palić, who heroically laid down his life for freedom, which was an imperative at the time. By UN Resolution on April 16, 1993, it was declared a “protected zone”. The people of Žepa had their weapons confiscated, and Žepa was entrusted to the UN forces for safekeeping. However, on July 25, 1995, Žepa was occupied by Serbian forces without resistance from the Ukrainian battalion. 457 people died in the defense of Žepa.

This forgotten place contains a large number of historical landmarks, one of which is the Redžep-paša Tower from the 16th century, which was set on fire during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, as was the entire settlement.