The Government of Montenegro and the Municipality of Herceg Novi have once again been asked to support the initiative to erect a memorial to the victims of the deportation of Bosniak refugees in 1992 in Herceg Novi, which was submitted more than four years ago but did not receive a response.
Behind the initiative are the executive directors of the Action for Human Rights (HRA) Tea Gorjanc Prelević and the Center for Civic Education (CGO) Daliborka Uljarević, the coordinator of ANIMA Ljupka Kovačević and the head of the Council for Citizen Control of the Police Aleksandar Saša Zeković, and it was addressed to the Ministers of Internal Affairs and Culture. Raško Konjević or Pavlo Goranović.
"Once again, we ask you in writing to seriously consider the initiative to erect a monument, which would contribute to ensuring that the victims are not forgotten and serve as a warning to future generations," the announcement reads.
In May and June 1992, at least 66 Bosniak refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina were illegally arrested on the territory of Montenegro, and then delivered to the hostile Bosnian Serb army in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only 12 people deported from Montenegro managed to survive the torture in the concentration camps.
Most of the refugees deprived of their freedom were brought to the Herceg-Novi Security Center, which served as a collection center, from where they were transported by bus to the concentration camp in Foča on May 25, 1992, and killed two days later at an unspecified location in eastern Bosnia.
The remains of all the victims have not yet been found.
The initiative is based on the following facts:
UN General Assembly Resolution 60/147, entitled "Basic Principles on the Right to a Legal Remedy and Reparations for Victims of Serious Violations of International Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law", Chapter IX, Item 22, stipulates that reparations for victims include measures of satisfaction , including "commemoration and honoring the victims".
On December 25, 2008, the Government of Montenegro passed a decision on the court settlement with the families of the victims and the surviving victims of the 1992 deportation. In this way, Montenegro has accepted the fact that the crime took place and that the victims are real. The fact that the judiciary has not yet established individual criminal responsibility for that crime has no effect on honoring the victims, who are indisputable. The families of the victims emphasized the importance that such a monument would have for them, given the fact that a significant number of remains, especially those of people deported and killed on May 27, 1992, have still not been found and buried.
Article 40 of the Law on Memorials (Official Gazette of Montenegro 2008/1) stipulates that memorials permanently mark significant events, cherish human ideals and honor freedom fighters, civilian victims of war and mass human suffering. It is an indisputable fact that all the victims of deportation in 1992 were civilian victims, with which the Government of Montenegro agrees. Article 14, paragraph 1 of the aforementioned law stipulates that a memorial can be erected by Montenegro, a municipality, a local community, a religious community and another legal entity by building or installing a memorial object. The jurisdiction of the municipal assembly to make a decision on erecting a monument is defined in more detail in Art. 16 of the Law, according to which a memorial cannot be erected without a decision of the municipal assembly made in accordance with the program of erecting memorials with the prior consent of the Ministry of Culture.
UN General Assembly Resolution 60/147, as a guarantee measure against repeated violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, foresees "continuous education on human rights and international humanitarian law for all social sectors, training of officials in the judiciary as well as military and police forces".
The monument to the victims of the action, which was carried out to the greatest extent in May 1992 by members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Montenegro, in front of the Herceg-Novi Security Center, would serve as a permanent warning to new generations of members of the MUP that they are obliged to refuse the execution of orders that result in war crime or other violation of human rights. By erecting a memorial, the state of Montenegro, in accordance with the United Nations Resolution, would provide continuous and impressive education for the police force, ensure the memory of the victims and become an example for the states in the region.
On May 25, NGOs marked the 23rd anniversary of this war crime with a memorial gathering in front of the Herceg-Novi Security Center building. The organizers of the meeting, supported by the representatives of the NGO "Number 19", the Movement for Neutrality, family members of the deportation victim Osman Bajrović and representatives of the council clubs of the Herceg-Novi Municipal Assembly, Milovan Baždar and Dragan Šimrak, repeated the initiative to declare a Day of Remembrance for the Victims in Montenegro. deportations and erected a monument at the very place from where the victims were deported, in the yard of the Herceg-Novi Regional Police Department building.
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