UDIK Udruženje za društvena istraživanja i komunikacije
Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the kidnapping and murder 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 several days of abuse, and their bodies were thrown into the Drina. 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.
We appeal 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. The only correct way to deal with the war past of the 1990s is the equal treatment of all civilian victims of the war who were nothing but victims of monstrous policies that, unfortunately, are still presented to the people as the best solution. We have to get out of ethno-political frameworks and leave war-mongering policies. Only then can we talk about socio-economic transformation and a better life in these areas.
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
