33rd ANNIVERSARY OF MASSACRE OF 13 RSA SOLDIERS MARKED IN GRBAVICA

BRČKO, MARCH 8 /SRNA/ – A memorial service was held today in Grbavica near Brčko marking the 33rd anniversary of the killing of 13 soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army, who were brutally murdered in 1993 by members of the so-called Army of BiH.

Republika Srpska Minister of Labor and Veterans’ and Disability Protection Radan Ostojić stressed that the crime in Grbavica was one of the most monstrous committed during the last war, as confirmed by pathologists' findings.

"Today we are here to mourn and to testify about the anomalies of the BiH judicial system, which has failed to adequately prosecute almost any crime against Serb soldiers and people. While Serbs are prosecuted even for verbal offenses, those who carried out massacres against Serbs walk free," Ostojić told reporters.

He stressed that Republika Srpska is the result of the unity and solidarity of the Serb people, who did not allow the fate from the Second World War to be repeated.

Republika Srpska Minister of Energy and Mining Petar Đokić said that the Serb people traditionally gather at the local cemetery in Grbavica to pay tribute to those who were killed in the most horrific manner while fighting for freedom and the creation of Republika Srpska.

"This crime remains one of a series of unpunished crimes committed against the Serb people in BiH. Our cry for justice grows louder every year, because the families, friends, and fellow citizens of these young men deserve to see those who ordered and committed the crime punished," Đokić said.

He noted that Grbavica, with 63 fallen soldiers, ranks among the places with the highest number of casualties in Republika Srpska and expressed hope for continued support from the institutions of Republika Srpska and the Brčko District in addressing the needs of local residents.

Brčko District Mayor Siniša Milić stressed that every year attention is drawn to the discouraging fact that there has been no progress in the investigation into this crime.

"While an entire nation is artificially being portrayed as criminal, crimes committed by others are being covered up. We will not stop fighting for the truth, because this crime is clear evidence that in the civil war in BiH there were no innocents," Milić said.

After the memorial service at the local cemetery, wreaths and flowers were laid at the central memorial in Grbavica.

On March 8, 1993, 13 Serb soldiers from Grbavica were captured in Boderište near Brčko. Despite an agreed prisoner exchange, the Serbs from Grbavica were brutally mutilated and then killed.

The horrific massacre of members of the Republika Srpska Army from this area was committed by members of the so-called Army of BiH.

The settlement of Grbavica suffered the highest number of Serb casualties in the pre-war municipality of Brčko during the last war.