The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) would like to draw attention to the 33rd anniversary of the horrific crimes committed in the city of Višegrad in the east of Bosnia on June 27, 1992: “Višegrad stands for the systematic dehumanization and destruction of Bosniak life by Bosnian-Serb forces. The atrocities are not just something that happened in the past – they are denied, whitewashed, and insufficiently prosecuted until today,” emphasized Jasna Causevic, STP expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, in Göttingen today.

According to estimates, at least 3,000 people were killed in Višegrad, including at least 600 women and 120 children. The crimes were committed by Bosnian-Serb soldiers and paramilitary groups such as the “White Eagles” – mostly in May and June 1992. Eyewitnesses reported systematic rape, torture, people being burned alive, and mass killings, after which many of the bodies were thrown into the River Drina in order to remove traces.

The massacres that occurred in Pionirska Street on June 14 and in Bikavac on June 27 were especially brutal: around 130 people were burned alive. Zehra Turjacanin, one of the few survivors, reported 3rd degree burns, open wounds, and a months-long struggle for survival.

“The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia convicted some of the perpetrators, but many of those responsible were not punished – and some of them are still living undisturbed in Serbia in retirement. The perpetrators are still glorified in Višegrad – through murals showing the war criminal Ratko Mladić, through monuments, and through the absence of any official attempts at a culture of remembrance, for example at places such as the hotel “Vilina Vlas”, which was used as a rape camp during the war. Today, the building serves as a wellness center,” criticized Belma Zulčić, Director of the STP in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Following the historic resolution by the UN General Assembly from last year, with which July 11 was declared the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the Genocide in Srebrenica, it is absolutely unacceptable that there are murals at the entrances to Višegrad, Kalinovik, and other places, glorifying Ratko Mladic, who was convicted of genocide,” stated Prof. Dr. David Pettigrew, expert on holocaust and genocide crimes, in a conversation with the STP after her returned from Kalinovik yesterday. “Thus, the murals showing Ratko Mladić at the entrances of these towns are a gruesome provocation that celebrates crimes.”

The STP calls on the German Federal Government and the member states of the EU to finally ensure that the victims will receive justice and acknowledgement. This includes:

• the closure of the hotel “Vilina Vlas” and its conversion into a national memorial site,
• a monument for the murdered women and children,
• the marking and repurposing of crime scenes as memorial sites,
• and the removal of murals depicting war criminals – especially the picture of Ratko Mladic at the entrance to Višegrad.

“These measures are overdue. Only through consistency and clear political signals can we honor the victims and work toward a future in which such crimes are not repeated,” Causevic emphasized.