28th anniversary of the murder of nine Sarajevo citizens in Žrtava fašizma street marked

(Patria) - On the occasion of the 28th anniversary of the murder of nine citizens in Žrtava fašizma street near number 12, Otoka settlement, Novi Grad municipality, committed by the aggressor during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992 - 1995, a delegation of the Sarajevo Canton laid flowers and paid tribute at the site of the tragedy today.

In a fitting program, the attendees at the anniversary commemoration were addressed by the Minister of Communal Economy, Infrastructure, Spatial Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection of KS Enver Hadžiahmetović and the President of the Otoka local community Davor Ninić.

Minister Hadžiahmetović said that we must constantly remind ourselves of the thousand-day siege of Sarajevo in which its citizens were exposed to great suffering, hunger, thirst, cold, and constant shelling and sniper fire, which killed more than 12,000 of them, including 1,601 children.

"For the crimes committed in Sarajevo, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague sentenced Stanislav Galić, commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska, to the maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The Court sentenced Dragomir Milošević, who succeeded Galić and continued the crimes against Sarajevans, to 33 years. Ratko Mladić, commander of the Main Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, was also sentenced to life imprisonment. Among other things, he was convicted of a joint criminal enterprise aimed at spreading terror among the civilian population of Sarajevo through a campaign of sniper fire and shelling," Minister Hadžiahmetović recalled.

He pointed out that it is, however, too little to convict only a few commanders and politicians for the suffering of citizens during four years of siege, especially considering the key information related to 12,000 killed and 60,000 wounded.

"In addition to command and political responsibility, there is also personal responsibility of the members of the Army of Republika Srpska, and work should be done on that while there is still time," Minister Hadžiahmetović stated.

He also emphasized that, regardless of the past, our future must be built on coexistence, mutual respect, and tolerance, and for that to happen, justice must be served and perpetrators of crimes adequately punished.

On that day, October 10, 1993, around 1:50 PM, three 82 mm mortar shells were fired from aggressor positions located in the Nedžarići area, which landed on the asphalt surface in Žrtava fašizma street near number 12 and Ilije Engela street near number 5.

Nine people were killed by the explosive and shrapnel effect of the shells: Elma Geko, Slavojka Govedarica, Semir Haseta, Amina Hećo, Ajdin Hodžić, Ibrahim Huskić, Vinko Lončar, Silvijo Mačorović, and Božidar Šuka. Thirty-eight people were seriously and lightly wounded.

In addition to the delegation of the Sarajevo Canton, delegations from the Association of Parents of Murdered Children of Sarajevo Besieged 1992-1995, the Union of War Victims of KS, the City of Sarajevo, the Municipal Council and Municipality of Novi Grad, the Otoka local community, the Association of Women Soldiers 1992-1995, and Elementary School "Mehmedalija Mak Dizdar" also attended the commemoration of the sad anniversary.