On the 30th anniversary of the crime: Tribute paid to the victims of the massacre near the entrance to the Tunnel of Hope in Butmir

(Patria) - Delegations of Sarajevo Canton, Ilidža Municipality, and the Union of Civil War Victims of Sarajevo Canton laid flowers today and paid tribute to the victims of the massacre near the DB "Butmir" facility, near the entrance from the Butmir side, which occurred on this day 30 years ago.

On May 7, 1995, several grenades were fired from enemy positions in Lukavica towards the entrance to the Tunnel of Hope, killing 10 of our fellow citizens, and wounding 11 more, some seriously.

Addressing the attendees on behalf of the organizers of the commemoration - Sarajevo Canton, Mersiha Kolčaković, assistant minister in the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of KS, stated today that the names of the murdered are symbols of innocence and a permanent reminder of the unspeakable pain and irreparable loss suffered by their families and our entire community.

"This gathering is a moment of remembrance and an act of respect for the citizens murdered here, but also for the more than 11,000 murdered citizens of Sarajevo during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The memory of them and the siege of Sarajevo, during which our citizens suffered under impossible conditions, without food, water, electricity, and gas, with constant shelling and sniper fire, remains a permanent reminder of human courage, endurance, and resilience, but also of the horrors we must not forget," Kolčaković stated.

However, as she added, the culture of remembrance is more than that. It is not just remembering the past, but also learning from the past, so this gathering is also an appeal for the future that it never happens again to anyone.

"We must strive for justice to be served. While remembering the terrible crimes of the past, we must strongly advocate for the values that are the foundation of a just society. The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be built on the foundations of peace and mutual respect. That is our moral obligation to every victim," Kolčaković stated, among other things.

The president of the Union of Civil War Victims of KS, Senida Karović, reminded today that in July 1993, while Sarajevo was under a complete blockade, the digging of the tunnel opened a small window to the world – a path to free territory.

"This place symbolizes the struggle for life and resistance in the face of death, and therefore we must cherish it as a space of remembrance culture. Sarajevo survived 1,425 days of siege – the longest in modern warfare history. Today, when untruths are systematically spread and the truth is distorted, we who have survived have a responsibility to bear witness," Karović stated, expressing dissatisfaction that the perpetrators have not been punished to this day and that justice has not been served.

As she stated, at least a hundred names of those who directly participated in the siege of the city can be identified from the Hague verdicts alone, and she called on the judiciary to deliver justice and truth, so that the victims have at least a minimum of moral satisfaction.

Numerous students from the First Elementary School in Ilidža also attended today's commemoration.