VIDEO When barbarism and hatred overpower reason: The Old Bridge was targeted until complete destruction

(Patria) - The 30th anniversary of the barbaric destruction of the Old Bridge will be marked in Mostar today.

After two days of shelling from HVO positions, the stone arch that had connected the banks of the Neretva for centuries was destroyed on November 9, 1993, at 10:16 AM. The destruction and collapse of the Old Bridge was captured on camera, but one recording only emerged this year.

In May, a recording was shown in Mostar, held by JOB Mostar and the Center for Peace and Multiethnic Cooperation Mostar, which confirms the presence of members of the Croatian Army (HV) at fortifications on the towers of Hum Hill above the city. Last night, a new extended recording of the destruction of the Old Bridge by the HV and HVO from Hum Hill was published on the YouTube channel Mostar Memorial & Museum.

Slobodan Praljak, former head of the HVO Main Staff, who drank poison in the courtroom of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague in November 2017 during the pronouncement of his guilty verdict, is directly considered responsible for the destruction of the Old Bridge.

The 30th anniversary of the destruction of the symbol of Mostar and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be marked by an event called "Ode to the Old Bridge" organized by Mostar primary school students, high school students, and university students from schools and educational institutions that follow the federal curriculum in the Bosnian language.

The "Ode to the Old Bridge" event will be held on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at 10:00 AM at the National Theatre in Mostar.

The truth about the destruction of the city's symbol will be preserved by new generations, as institutions continue to refuse to mark November 9.

The City Administration of Mostar has confirmed that the City of Mostar does not plan to mark the 30th anniversary of the destruction of the Old Bridge in any way.

The Old Bridge, 24 meters high at its highest point, was restored and opened in July 2004, and in 2005 it was inscribed on the UNESCO list of protected cultural monuments.

Vijesti.ba