Over 6,000 Participants of the Peace March Set Off from Nezuk to Potočari

(Patria) - Over 6,000 participants are ready to set off tomorrow on a journey more than 100 kilometers long – the Peace March hike, as part of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica and its surroundings.

Symbolically, the hike began yesterday in Sapna with the gathering of participants, while the official departure of the column from Nezuk will follow this morning.

The Peace March lasts three days, from July 8 to 10, with the same number of stages. Each stage is between 25 and 30 kilometers long. The column departs on July 8 between 8:45 AM and 9:00 AM from Nezuk, Sapna municipality.

The column includes survivors of the "Death March," as well as participants from around the world – organized groups, domestic and foreign activists, representatives of associations, and a large number of young people. Their presence aims to pay tribute to the killed civilians and remind of the gravity of the crime that occurred in the UN-protected zone.

The route taken by the column includes Nezuk – Baljkovica – Parlog – Crni Vrh – Snagovo – Liplje – Jošanica – Donja Kamenica – Bakrači – Glode – Udrč – Cerska – Kaldrmica – Đugum – Mravinjci – Burnice – Kameničko Brdo – Ravni Buljim – Jaglići – Šušnjari – Budak, ending in Potočari at the Memorial Center.

The sections of the road, which daily amount to between 25 and 30 kilometers, lead through extremely demanding and difficult-to-pass terrain, such as the Udrč mountain range and forest paths surrounded by streams. The march also passes through returnee settlements where participants are regularly offered hospitality, and many of these places were sites of mass executions and locations of mass graves.

At certain points, participants will have the opportunity to attend short history lessons, where wartime events and suffering are discussed. Some testimonies will be given by individuals who survived the "Death March" in 1995, and who still participate in this hike today – shoulder to shoulder with young people who learn and remember.

The conclusion of the Peace March is scheduled for July 10, and participants will attend the commemoration and collective funeral prayer at the Potočari Memorial Center, where newly identified genocide victims will be buried.