Zvornik Municipality Bans Filming of Site Where 500 Bosniaks Were Killed and Denies Committed Crimes

(Patria) - Director of the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Center Emir Suljagić announced today that the Zvornik Municipality is blocking access to the site of the former Cultural Center in Pilica.

"The Srebrenica Memorial Center cannot obtain consent to film the former Cultural Center in Pilica because 'no crime was committed there,' and 'let's not spread lies,'" Suljagić stated.

This morning we received a call from the Zvornik Municipality with the notification that @SrebrenicaMC cannot obtain consent to film the former Cultural Center in Pilica because "no crime was committed there," and "let's not spread lies."

— Emir Suljagić (@suljagicemir1) February 4, 2025

Recall, in mid-January, during a planned visit, a professional team from the Memorial Center, together with external associates responsible for preparing one of the institution's exhibition displays, was prevented from carrying out filming activities at the former Cultural Center in Pilica. Although the competent institutions were informed of the plans, there was a sudden change in decision. Police officers, in accordance with new instructions, ordered the cessation of all activities and departure from the location.

The Srebrenica Memorial Center then stated that they expressed concern over the decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska (MUP RS) to ban the planned filming of the interior of the Cultural Center in Pilica.

This location carries deep historical and symbolic weight as one of the places where crimes against Bosniaks were committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995. The Cultural Center in Pilica was a site of detention and mass murder of 500 Bosniaks in July 1995, making it a key symbol of the genocide committed against Bosniaks in Podrinje.

"Cultural centers, schools, and other public buildings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which once served as spaces for education and social life, were turned into places of crime during the war. The Cultural Center in Pilica testifies to systematic violence, including detention, torture, and mass executions," said the Director of the Memorial Center, Emir Suljagić.