Thirty-four years have passed since the abduction of civilians from Sjeverin, a village in the municipality of Priboj, Serbia. On October 22, 1992, members of the Serbian military formation “Avengers”, under the command of Milan Lukić, abducted 16 Bosniaks employed by companies in Priboj as they were travelling to work on a regular bus service operating between Priboj and Rudo. All the kidnapped civilians were later killed.

In 2005, the Belgrade District Court sentenced Milan Lukić, Oliver Krsmanović and Dragutin Dragićević to 20 years in prison each for this crime, while Đorđe Šević was sentenced to 15 years in prison. According to the court, the convicted men, together with five other unidentified individuals, tortured the civilians, violated their physical integrity and ultimately killed them on the morning of October 22, 1992.

The crime was committed after Milan Lukić stopped a bus belonging to the company “Raketa” from Užice in the village of Mioče (Rudo, B&H). Together with two unknown individuals, Lukić entered the bus and checked the passengers’ identification. Fifteen men and one woman were then taken from the bus. They were abducted in a truck driven by Oliver Krsmanović and transported to the Hotel “Vilina Vlas” in Višegrad. They were physically abused there and subsequently killed on the banks of 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.

The fact that the abduction and killings took place on the territory of another state does not absolve Serbia of its moral obligation to recognize the victims as civilian victims of war and to show respect for their suffering. Greater efforts by the competent institutions to locate the missing, as well as the provision of financial compensation to the victims’ families, would constitute a tangible expression of solidarity with families who have lived for decades with grief, uncertainty and the consequences of this crime.

We also recall this year’s initiative by the Center for Civic Education from Montenegro and UDIK, after which the local institutions terminated their cooperation with the Hotel “Vilina Vlas”. This move indicates the importance of a responsible attitude towards places associated with war crimes, as well as the unacceptability of cooperation with institutions that deny or ignore the suffering of victims.

We call on institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region to follow this example, to treat the legacy of war crimes responsibly and to take into account the historical context and the relationship of potential partners towards victims when establishing cooperation.

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