UDIK Udruženje za društvena istraživanja i komunikacije
Today marks the thirty-second anniversary of the abduction of sixteen Bosniak civilians from Sjeverin (Priboj, Serbia).
On October 22, 1992, members of the Serbian paramilitary formation Avengers, commanded by Milan Lukić, kidnapped sixteen passengers from Rudo-Priboj bus in the Bosnian village of Mioče near Višegrad. Fifteen men and one woman were taken by truck to the hotel Vilina Vlas in Višegrad, where they were killed after severe physical abuse, and their bodies were thrown into the Drina River. The night before this event, Sabahudin Ćatović was abducted in front of the family house. He has been missing since then. All victims were citizens of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. So far, the remains of only one victim (Medredin Hodžić) have been found, while the others are still missing.
For this crime were sentenced Dragutin Dragićević, Milan Lukić and Oliver Krsmanović to twenty years and Đorđe Šević to fifteen years in prison.
Despite all the facts and evidence, the state of Serbia continues to ignore the victims from Sjeverin massacre. The commemoration is left to the local community, and the question of finding the bodies of those killed continues to trouble the families of the victims. We repeat ourappeal to the state of Serbia to take the necessary steps so that the victims of the Sjeverin massacre get the status of civilian war victims and to finally establish financial compensation for the families of the victims. Political will is needed to work more intensively on finding the missing persons. The democracy of a society is best manifested in its attitude towards minorities. Let Serbia show its democracy and equal attitude towards all citizens on the example of Sjeverin massacre victims.
On this occasion, we remember the victims of the Sjeverin massacre:Alija Mandal, Derviš Softić, Esad Džihić, Idriz Gibović, Hajrudin Sajtarević, Medredin Hodžić, Mehmed Šebo, Medo Hodžić, Mevlida Koldžić, Mithad Softić, Mujo Alihodžić, Mustafa Bajramović, Ramahudin Ćatović, Ramiz Begović, Sabahudin Ćatović, Sead Pecikoza i Zafer Hadžić.
Association for Social Research and Communication – Sarajevo
Center for Democracy and Transitional Justice – Banja Luka
Woman’s Voice – Priboj
