Herceg Novi leaders "promised to work on building a monument" to victims of deportation

Authorities in Herceg Novi have promised to work on building a monument to the victims of the deportation of Bosnian-Herzegovinian refugees in 1992, said Alen Bajrović, the son of one of the victims.

A memorial gathering in front of the Herceg Novi police station yesterday at noon marked the 33rd anniversary of the war crime. The gathering, organized by the Human Rights Action (HRA), the Center for Civic Education (CCE) and ANIMA – Center for Women's and Peace Education, was attended by family members of the five victims of the crime, representatives of the Government and Parliament, the Ombudsman, leaders of the Bosniak Council, representatives of the Islamic Community, international organizations, embassies, political parties, non-governmental organizations, the media and citizens.

"In addition to great expectations, this anniversary was unfortunately celebrated without the reopening of the criminal investigation into the deportation case, without a monument and without marking the day of remembrance for the victims," ​​HRA, CCE and ANIMA announced.

However, they point out that immediately before the memorial gathering, there was an "encouraging meeting" with the presidents of the local parliament, and HRA Executive Director Tea Gorjanc-Prelević emphasized that she believes that we are "on the first day of the year in which we will welcome the monument." She called on Herceg Novi to extend a hand to the families of the victims.

"What happened to them in this city should not have happened. It was tragic, it was unjust and shameful to send people who were seeking salvation to their executioners. There was no justification for it. There was knowledge of what was going to happen, some honorable police officers became concerned, so they arrested and released some of the people," Gorjanc-Prelević pointed out.

Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujović said that after 33 years, "these wounds still hurt us."

"How is it possible for this crime to happen like this? It's hard to understand, but it's healing to remember and talk about it, to face the fact that perhaps one of our loved ones was a participant or executor of such an order. How and why didn't he raise his voice, stand up to his boss, the mayor, the minister," the minister asked.

Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography Damir Gutić said that Montenegro must correct the stain from its past by bringing the perpetrators and instigators of this crime to justice.

"The second thing we have to do is for the souls to find peace, and that is for the remains to be found and for them to be buried with dignity. So that the families have somewhere to go and know that their loved ones are buried there. The next thing we have to do is that we have to have some kind of monument here, and I call on the Municipality of Herceg Novi and certainly the Ministry of Culture and Media to help finally erect that monument," Gutić emphasized.

We must work to build a society in which every citizen feels safe, dignified and respected, regardless of origin, religion, nationality or any other special characteristic, said the Minister of Human and Minority Rights, Fatmir Đeka.

"I believe that facing the past is an indicator of the moral maturity of a society, and in this regard, I call on all of us to learn from the mistakes of the past and to build a culture of memory and respect that will be the foundation of peace, reconciliation and coexistence among nations... It is our duty and moral obligation to teach future generations to fight against nationalism, the spread of religious intolerance and hatred."

Novica Obradović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said that "we gather in a place that reminds us of human suffering, institutional failures and the importance of collective memory."

"We are not just paying tribute to the victims, but we are also reaffirming Montenegro's commitment to truth, justice and the dignity of every person, regardless of their origin, religion or nation... By nurturing a culture of remembrance and speaking openly about the difficult chapters of our past, we are not dividing society, but building the foundations of trust and reconciliation," said Obradović.

The Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, Siniša Bjeković, stated that "we had a lot of warrior courage in this country, but we did not have civic courage," the statement reads.

"We cannot talk about the human rights of those who are no longer there. They had the right to life, they had the right to be with their family, they had the right to be free from torture and all other forms of persecution, they had the right to love, to be educated, they had the right to be equal with others. And they are not. The monument that is being talked about will not only be a monument to the victims, but a monument to a once dormant consciousness and conscience," said Bjeković.

The gathering was also addressed by family members of the victims. The mother of Amer Prelo, the youngest victim of the deportation (18 years old), Hikmeta Prelo, said that in May 1992, her son, brother and sister's husband were taken away from her.

"They took them 'for an interview', and there was no interview. I don't have the bones of a child, a brother, or a son-in-law. I am alive, and the dark days are passing. I just want what was said today to be fulfilled. So that when I come across it, I can see that plaque, read that name, have a memory," she said.

Sejda Krdžalija, the mother of the victim Sanin Krdžalija, who was 22 years old when he was taken, expects the victims to receive a memorial.

"Last time I was there, everyone promised that the next time we come, it will be at the opening of that monument. I would like to ask you and thank all of you, especially those with whom we had a meeting this morning, the Mayor and the President of the Assembly of Herceg Novi, who gave us their support and promised that it would happen. I would like our next visit to be at the opening of that monument. That, I think, is the minimum that can be done for what happened," she emphasized.

The son of the deceased Osmo Bajrović, Alen Bajrović, thanked the President of the Municipality of Herceg Novi Stevan Katić and the President of the Municipal Assembly Miloš Konjević for, as he said, opening the doors to the victims and extending a hand, with the promise that in the coming period work will be done on the construction of a monument within the premises of the Herceg Novi police building, the statement reads.

He recalled the tragic events of May 1992 and called on the competent institutions of Montenegro to finally prosecute those responsible for that crime.

"Even today, we do not know the exact number of those captured, these are just speculations, let alone where they ended up. I am still searching for my father's remains. So I expect the Special Prosecutor's Office to initiate this court proceeding and to prosecute all those who participated in this war crime - from those who were direct perpetrators and those who gave orders, as well as those who held certain positions in the then government under command responsibility for this war crime," said Bajrović.

Coordinator of the Center for Women's and Peace Education - ANIMA Ervina Dabižinović said that it is difficult to listen to promises about erecting a monument year after year, because it would not only be an act of respect for the victims, but also the need for society to take responsibility for what happened.

"The state was fully aware of what would happen to them, and to this day we have not established responsibility. It is difficult to speak without mentioning that the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education must be the strongest drivers for the content about war crimes in Montenegro to enter education so that the younger generations know what happened here. The plaque will record that it was a state crime, but it will also say that we are ready for future generations not to repeat what we did," she said.

Representative of the Islamic Community, imam and envoy of the Reis Džemal Dacić said that we need to build dialogue and that it is a necessity of every modern social system in the 21st century, and especially "in our context, which is burdened with various burdens of the past."

"If we strive to establish this dialogue and if we are ready to acknowledge all these failures that occurred in the past, we will simply face each other - we will look each other in the eye, we will extend our hands to each other and unanimously accept our shared responsibility. In this way, we will greatly improve our coexistence," Dacić added.

Amina Murić, representative of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, pointed out that crimes that go unpunished continue to live on in other forms – through hate speech, nationalism, intolerance and violence among young people.

"It is important that we know what happened. Not so that we are stuck in the past, but so that we can prevent it from happening again... Democracy is not only killed by weapons, democracy is also killed by silence. That is why all of us here today choose to speak and to remember," she said.

Damir Suljević, human rights coordinator at the Center for Civic Education, said that they gathered in Herceg Novi "not only to remember, but also to remind and warn that forgetting can also be complicity."

"Let us also warn about the wrong name of a street that could be a new wound, because respect for victims is not measured by statements, but by facts, responsibility, empathy - and the monument that we are still waiting for," Suljević added.

The president of the "Štrpci - Against Oblivion" Association, Demir Ličina, apologized on behalf of Montenegro to the families of the victims for the crime committed and supported appeals to have a memorial erected in front of the Herceg Novi Security Department.

"Make decisions. That's the simplest thing. That's how the memorial will be built," Ličina emphasized.

The gathering was also attended by the sister of the victim Sanina Krdžalija, Sanela Krdžalija Bašić, the aunt of the victim Amer Prela and the sister of Himzo Čengić, Fikreta Hadžić. Also present were the Minister of Regional and Investment Development and Cooperation with NGOs Ernad Suljević, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Mirsad Nurković, MPs Amer Smailović and Edina Dešić. On behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Director General of the Directorate for Security and Surveillance Affairs Zoran Kujović and the Head of the Security Department in Herceg Novi Dragan Kontić, with police officers, also attended. On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, State Secretary Marko Marković attended.

On behalf of the Ministry of European Affairs, the anniversary of the deportation of refugees was marked by the Chief Negotiator of Montenegro with the European Union, Predrag Zenović. On behalf of the Office of the President of Montenegro, the gathering was attended by associates Marija Vesković and Drago Šundić. The gathering was also attended by the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Montenegro, Branimir Jukić. On behalf of the Special State Prosecutor's Office, the gathering was attended by Legal Advisor Branko Vujisić. On behalf of the Municipality of Herceg Novi, the Secretary of the Secretariat for Ecology and Energy Efficiency, Aleksandar Božović, as well as members of the local parliament, attended.

Among the participants in the meeting were representatives of: UNDP in Montenegro, political parties (URA, SDP, SD, Bosniak Party, Liberal Party) and non-governmental organizations (Association Štrpci - against forgetting, Center for Nonviolent Communication from Sarajevo, Association of War Victims Foča 92-95, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Civic Alliance), the statement reads.