31st anniversary of the murder of seven civilians at 47 Hamdije Kreševljaković Street marked

(Patria) - By laying flowers and paying tribute at the site of the massacre, family members, friends, students of the "Musa Ćazim Ćatić" Elementary School, and representatives of authorities and associations marked the 31st anniversary of the murder of civilians at 47 Hamdije Kreševljaković Street.

At that spot 31 years ago, a 120 mm mortar shell fell, the explosive force of which killed seven and seriously and lightly wounded four of our fellow citizens. The shell was fired from the aggressor positions of the Republika Srpska Army, which were located in the Hladivoda area.

Those killed were: Staka Aksentić, Zekerija Dacić, Ibro and Sead Plakalo, Igbal Redžić, Dženan Smajić, and Elmedin Zimić.

On behalf of the Sarajevo Canton, flowers were laid by representatives in the Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton, Marijela Hašimbegović and Admela Hodžić, and an employee of the Ministry of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton, Elma Petreši-Žunić.

As was stated on this occasion, the brutal murders and massacres of the citizens of Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina were not accidental, and this should always be repeated.

"Because how else to explain these horrific murders that occurred during children sledding on Alipašino Polje, during children's play on Bistrik, in lines for water at the Pivara and Dairi, in Ferhadija in the bread line, during funerals in Budakovići and Boljakov Potok, at the Markale market, the City Market, and many other places. How to explain them other than as the planned and systematic killing of the citizens of Sarajevo," said Petreši-Žunić, who addressed those present.

That this was recognized at the International Court in The Hague is proven by the sentence to the maximum penalty, life imprisonment, for Stanislav Galić, commander of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps of the Republika Srpska Army. Dragomir Milošević, who succeeded Galić and continued the crimes against Sarajevans, was sentenced by the Court to 33 years. The life imprisonment sentence was also confirmed for Ratko Mladić, commander of the Main Staff of the Republika Srpska Army. Among other things, he was convicted for the joint criminal enterprise "which aimed to spread terror among the civilian population of Sarajevo through a campaign of sniping and shelling." Radovan Karadžić, the first president of Republika Srpska, is also serving a life sentence.

"Regardless of the past, our future must be built on the equality of all peoples and citizens. We must persevere in the ideas on which Bosnia and Herzegovina can and must survive, and these are the ideas of coexistence, mutual respect, and tolerance. And for that to be so, justice must be satisfied and the perpetrators of these terrible crimes, including this one we are marking today, must be adequately punished," said Petreši-Žunić.