Potresno obraćanje Enise Ahmić-Mulić: Jedinice HVO-a upali su u našu kuću i strijeljali mi oca pred očima

(Patria) - In Ahmići, a commemoration was held today on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the crimes committed by HVO units in Ahmići.

Numerous delegations came to Ahmići today, including the Minister of Defence of BiH Zukan Helez, SDA President Bakir Izetbegović, FBiH Vice President Refik Lendo, member of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly House of Peoples Collegium Kemal Ademović, delegate Džemal Smajić, former British Army Colonel Bob Stewart who uncovered the scale of the crimes in Ahmići in April 1993 with a few soldiers, a delegation of the FBiH Government, and the Armed Forces of BiH.

As stated at the beginning of the commemoration, the UN report clearly stated that there was no legitimate military target in Ahmići, nor was any organized resistance offered to the HVO attack.

Enisa Ahmić-Mulić, who survived 48 hours of massacre, blood, and ashes, spoke at the commemoration.

"I was 14 years old when members of the HVO Jokers unit broke into our house around half past five in the morning and shot my father Ahmić Šuhret. I have been living with those images for 31 years," says Enisa.

Her uncle and his three children, the youngest of whom was three months old, were killed.

"His wife would have survived the bullets if she hadn't burned alive. We who were being killed that day, repeatedly, are still surviving ourselves and a system that has shown no readiness to bear the burden of our suffering. We have made the greatest effort from our souls all these years. Our testimonies in The Hague have inscribed the commanders of the HVO into the history of shame. The bones of our fellow villagers were first transferred to Livno, Mostar, even to Banja Luka. Only through our persistence has this delusion been illuminated. For us survivors, comfort comes even when we find a single bone and place a tombstone on it. Besides tombstones, we need recognition and condemnation of the crime. We, the people of Ahmići, carry the burden of this crime bravely. Let April 16th be a warning to the BiH Prosecutor's Office to launch an investigation into Ahmići. That is the least they can do," said Ahmić-Mulić.

In his address, Colonel Bob Stewart said that he was accompanied by four soldiers who entered Ahmići at that time.

"They were working in the Ahmići region before April 16th. And they were here on April 16th until 5:25 AM. When the Bosnian Croats attacked in the morning, we didn't have enough manpower or vehicles to do anything. The United Kingdom soldiers considered it their duty to protect people. These people are our family. They may be of a different faith, Bosnian Muslims, but they think, behave, and care just like us. We are protected, we have body armor, and they have nothing. On April 16th, Ahmići had nothing. And I will never understand how we weren't there at that moment.

We in the UK consider BiH a very special place. That people are like us, that they behave as we do, we have a responsibility to help people wherever we can, and the international community also failed Ahmići in 1993, and for that, we apologize. 116 people were killed, but not only in Ahmići, bodies were all around. There were also killed Croats. It wasn't just one-sided. But we realized we were lucky because we were protected, who were aware of the risks, and we felt guilty that we were so protected, and the people weren't," said Colonel Stewart.

The Minister of Displaced Persons and Refugees of the FBiH, Nerin Dizdar, said that it is an obligation to remember the victims, all the killed people of Ahmići.

The Vice President of the FBiH, Refik Lendo, said that the Croatian people are not to blame for Ahmići, but the special forces of the HVO are.

"What kind of name is '48 hours of ashes and blood'. Who in their right mind in the army gives such a name. To kill a 3-month-old child, children, 22 women. And the international community, and the little bit of weapons they took, said we will guarantee security. We openly say the international community is to blame for BiH. It tied our hands in 1992. In April 1992, BiH was recognized, its army was recognized. What kind of international community is it that doesn't allow you to acquire military equipment," said Lendo.