Novalić and Drljača, amid numerous appointments, forgot the murdered youth of Tuzla!

The Government of Tuzla Canton held an emergency session and adopted a Decision declaring May 25, the day of the suffering of Tuzla's youth at Kapija, as a day of mourning for the territory of Tuzla Canton, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

According to the Decision, on the day of mourning, all bodies and institutions in the territory of Tuzla Canton will display flags at half-mast, i.e., half-staff. Media outlets in the territory of Tuzla Canton, as well as organizers of cultural, artistic, and sports events in the territory of Tuzla Canton, are obliged to adapt their program content to the day of mourning.

However, it should be noted that the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at a session held on April 20, 2016, with 69 votes in favor, four abstentions, and one against, adopted the initiative of Mahir Mešalić (DF) to declare May 25 as a Day of Mourning in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. To this day, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not included this on the agenda, although according to the Rules of Procedure, it was obliged to do so within 30 days after it was voted on in the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The question arises as to why Prime Minister Fadil Novalić (SDA) and the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vesko Drljača (SBB), have never proposed this item for any session of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. From April 20 until today, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has held eight sessions, and the adopted initiative was not proposed at any of them. However, it is obvious that telephone sessions serve for dismissals and appointments, but not for paying tribute to the murdered youth of Tuzla.

The massacre at Kapija is also known as the "Crime against the youth of Tuzla," committed against civilians in Tuzla on May 25, 1995. On that day, at 8:55 PM, Serbian forces fired a shell from Ozren at the Tuzla promenade, i.e., the meeting place of young people known as Kapija. The shell killed 71 citizens of Tuzla and wounded over 150. The average age of the killed citizens of Tuzla was about 24 years.

For this crime, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Novak Đukić to 20 years in prison. After he was released from prison, his lawyer informed the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina a few days later that he was undergoing treatment in Serbia.