First stage of the Freedom March Kladanj-Žepa 'Lest we forget and it never happens again'

(Patria) - Participants of the first stage of the Freedom March Kladanj-Źepa “Lest we forget and it never happens again” are nearing the end of today's march and are currently in the village of Kute.

The Freedom March is part of the commemoration of the Day of Remembrance of the fall of the UN Protected Area of Žepa.

Around fifty participants of the march are following the paths of the breakthrough of the fighters from Žepa towards Kladanj in 1995, thus paying tribute to the brave fighters and honoring the fallen in the breakthrough to freedom.

The participants of the Freedom March are moving in the direction of Kladanj (Turalići) - Debelo Brdo - Nevačka - Džimrije - Stoborani, where a reception and overnight stay are planned.

The first stage of the arduous journey passed without major problems, despite the rain and fog that today reminded of those war days after the fall of the heroic enclave of Žepa.

Elmin Korman, known as Zeka, welcomed the participants of the Freedom March, refreshing them with coffee, watermelon, and juice, while Mina from Nevačka served drinks and food to the participants.

The second day of the march includes a stage from Stoborani to Žepa.

A traditional Šehidska dova (prayer for martyrs) will be recited in Žepa on July 27th, and the central event commemorating the 28th anniversary of the fall of the UN Protected Area of Žepa and the crimes in this area will begin at 11:00 AM.

The program on the plateau of the Memorial Center in Žepa will begin with the intonation of the anthem, reciting of Fatiha, laying of flowers, and speeches by officials, and will continue in the Šehid Mehmed-ef. Hajrić Mosque with a mevlud program and zikr, followed by a speech by the Reis-ul-ulema and Šehidska dova.

At 2:00 PM, the opening of the Šehid memorial in Slap is planned, and the all-day program will conclude in the courtyard of the Žepa mosque at 8:30 PM with a documentary film by Avdo Huseinović titled “Faces from Bosnia” about the camps for Bosniaks in Serbia and Montenegro from 1992-1995.

Mladić's forces began shelling UN positions around Žepa on July 7, 1995, with the intention of intimidating and expelling the Bosniak population.

Bosnian Serb forces opened fire on a UN checkpoint on July 9, 1995, and on Žepa on July 10. On the day of the fall of Srebrenica, July 11, a village near Žepa was shelled.

During three separate rounds of negotiations, representatives of the Bosnian Serb army sought to force the Bosniak population to leave Žepa, threatening them with military attack.

The first round of negotiations took place on July 13. At that time, the commander of the Rogatica Brigade, Colonel Rajko Kušić, accompanied by General Zdravko Tolimir, met with representatives of the local Bosniak authorities at the UNPROFOR checkpoint above Žepa.

The Bosnian Serbs said that "Srebrenica has fallen and now it is Žepa's turn".

Tolimir offered the representatives of the Bosniaks from Žepa two options: "evacuation of the entire population in the same way as it was carried out in Srebrenica, or a military action by the Serbs".

The representatives of Žepa decided to reject such a proposal. In the early morning of July 14, a large-scale attack on the Žepa enclave was carried out.

In the evening of July 14, 1995, Bosnian Serb military forces entered the pocket from the northwest, reoccupied part of the territory, and set fire to villages.

On July 19, 1995, shelling and shooting at Žepa ceased, and Ratko Mladić met with General Rupert Smith of UNPROFOR in Han-Kram.

Mladić was accompanied by Zdravko Tolimir and Colonel Inđić.

At the meeting, they discussed Srebrenica and, among other things, the withdrawal of the Dutch battalion, the situation in Žepa, and the freedom of movement for UNPROFOR and UNHCR.

Mladić stated that Žepa had fallen at 1:30 PM that day, which was not true.

The second round of negotiations between representatives of the Bosnian Serb forces and the Bosniaks from the enclave took place on the afternoon of July 19, 1995, at the Ukrainian checkpoint.

Mladić and Tolimir met with three representatives of the local civilian authorities from Žepa.

The Bosniaks were asked to surrender their weapons and place them under UNPROFOR control, after which they would be registered.

They would be considered prisoners of war until an exchange, which was to take place within five to 15 days, and Mladić guaranteed their safety.

Since the parties did not reach an agreement, the attack on Žepa continued on July 21, 1995. The third round of negotiations took place on July 24, 1995.

Present were a representative from the Žepa enclave, Hamdija Torlak, General Mladić, commander of the Rogatica Brigade Rajko Kušić, and Zdravko Tolimir.

On July 24, 1995, around 6:30 PM, an agreement was reached on the evacuation of civilians from Žepa. The transport of women and children began on July 25, 1995.

On July 27, the commander of the defense of Žepa, Avdo Palić, and members of the War Presidency of Žepa, Mehmed ef. Hajrić and Amir Imamović, were captured at the UNPROFOR checkpoint.

After the completion of the civilian evacuation, hundreds of Bosniaks, mostly of military age, sought refuge across the Drina River into Serbia, where many of them were registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and later released.

Other Bosniaks who did not cross into Serbia broke through, through numerous ambushes, towards the free territory under the control of the Army of the Republic of BiH.

Dozens of Bosniaks were killed during the attack on Žepa and later during the breakthrough to the free territory.

In 2019, the Memorial Center in Žepa was opened in the courtyard of the Mehmed ef. Hajrić Mosque, where the names of 495 killed residents of Žepa during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992-1995 are inscribed.