War veterans and peace activists in Ahmići and Trusina today

(Patria) - A group of peace activists and war veterans, former members of the Army of RBiH, Croatian Defence Council
(HVO), Croatian Army (HV), Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), and Army of Yugoslavia (VJ), will attend
on April 16, 2024, the commemoration of the suffering in both Ahmići and Trusina.

This year marks the 31st anniversary of the war crimes in Ahmići near Vitez, and in Trusina near Konjic. On April 16, 1993, HVO members committed a crime against the (Bosniak) residents of Ahmići, while members of the Army of RBiH committed a crime against the (Croatian) residents of Trusina. 

“Together with war veterans from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia, we have attended more than 20 commemorations so far, visiting various places in all three countries to show that we can jointly pay tribute to every victim and condemn every crime. In 2018, we attended the commemoration in Trusina, and in 2019, we were in Ahmići. We have visited Ahmići and Trusina, two places inextricably linked by pain for us, since then as well, but this year we decided, for the first time, to be present in both Ahmići and Trusina simultaneously. As we always emphasize wherever we go, we come in peace, we clearly condemn every crime, and by our joint presence, we show that we can build a culture of remembrance that will have a place for all victims, that together we can build a memory that will teach us about the value of every human life, mutual assistance, and building a better society for all of us and our children,” said Amer Delić, a member of the Center for Nonviolent Action and a war veteran of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ahmići is a village in the municipality of Vitez where, on April 16, 1993, HVO units killed 116 civilians, and some of the killed were never found. Among the victims were children aged three months to seven years. The oldest person killed in that crime was 81 years old. Several individuals were held accountable for this crime before the Hague Tribunal, all of whom have since been released, including Dario Kordić, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for command responsibility.

Mirko Zečević Tadić, a former HVO member, a minor participant in the war, and a war disabled veteran who has dedicated the last twenty years to the reconciliation process, is also in Ahmići again this year. He has previously visited both Ahmići and Trusina, and from this participation in commemorations, he expects a message of peace to be sent.

“Whenever we visit such places, when we learn facts that so many civilians, innocent people, young people, children, and the elderly were killed there, it is always somehow uncomfortable. Simply, I wonder what kind of human being, what kind of person you need to be to do such things to people who are completely innocent, who cannot defend themselves, who cannot offer any resistance? But I know that we must go to such places, that more of us must go, simply to tell ourselves that we can be 'normal', that we must rebuild values, that we must talk to other people that it is possible to talk and live together. I would just like those people who will be in Ahmići and Trusina, especially in Ahmići, to see that I, although I was in the other army, the army that committed these crimes, am not the kind of person who did it. That they understand that there are also those of us who were 'normal' in that war and who were not prepared to do such terrible things. That is most important to me, that those people accept me as I am: That I am a member of another nation, another army, but I was not capable of doing those things,” explains Mirko Zečević Tadić.

In Trusina, located about 20 kilometers from Konjic, 19 civilians and three captured HVO members were killed on April 16, 1993, in an attack by the Army of RBiH, according to data from the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Several individuals have been convicted for this war crime before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the trial of Zulfikar Ališpago, commander of the ARBiH special-purpose detachment “Zulfikar,” has not been concluded even after a full 14 years.

Dragica Tomić, president of the association organizing the commemoration in Trusina, says that the memory of April 16 is a warning for the future and a reminder that every war leaves devastation behind.

“Every mother cries the same, every child hurts the same when they are left without parents, a brother without a sister, and a sister without a brother… That is what April 16 tells us every year. It is extremely significant to me when there is a joint commemoration for both Ahmići and Trusina, what the Center for Nonviolent Action is doing is significant, but I also want to point out that some time ago, religious leaders of all communities in BiH jointly visited Trusina and Ahmići, that students from Sarajevo and Zagreb come… It will take a lot of time for something like that to become commonplace, but it is encouraging that there are people who have shown that they can go down that path, war veterans, students, representatives of religious communities have shown it… This is proof that suffering can be commemorated jointly regardless of who committed the crime and from which nation the victims are. This is significant for Bosnia and Herzegovina and it is a step forward,” says Dragica Tomić, who, along with peace activists, visited Ahmići and laid flowers at the monument to the killed residents of this village. Also, in 2022, Dragica Tomić hosted representatives of victim associations from Stupni Do near Vareš in Trusina, and then participated in a return visit to Stupni Do.

Peace activists and war veterans from the region, organized by the Center for Nonviolent Action, have so far attended commemorations in BiH in Gornji Vakuf, Kot 715 near Zavidovići, Stog near Vozuća, Novi Grad/Bosanski Novi, Sanski Most (Hrastova glavica), Sijekovac near Brod, Laništa near Brčko, Trusina near Konjic, Ahmići near Vitez, Grabovica, Ubork and Sutina near Mostar, Briševo and Zecovi near Prijedor, Korićanske stijene, Stupni Do near Vareš, Boderište near Brčko, the Sava bridge in Brčko, Bradina near Konjic, Skelani near Srebrenica, Silos in Tarčin near Hadžići, Lozje near Goražde, Rogatica, in Serbia in the Grdelica Gorge near Leskovac, Varvarin near Kruševac, Aleksinac, and in Croatia in Pakrac, Varivode, and Gošić near Knin.