THIRTY SERBS WERE BRUTALLY KILLED IN VILLAGE OF ČEMERNO, CRIMINALS HAVE NOT BEEN PUNISHED YET

ČEMERNO, JUNE 10 /SRNA/ - In the attack on the village of Čemerno in the Ilijaš municipality carried out by Muslim-Croat forces 34 years ago, among the 30 Serbs killed were the sisters Radinka /32/ and Ranka /29/ Damjanović, who were massacred all over their bodies and raped before being killed.

Radinka /Milan/ Damjanović and her sister Ranka were were killed together with their mother Spasenija /Neđo/ Damjanović /50/, who was massacred all over her body.

Among the victims of the attack on the village of Čemerno on June 10, 1992, Novko /Neđo/ Cvjetković /54/ was massacred to the point that he was recognized only by his clothes, as was Zdravko /Vukašin/ Damjanović /27/, who was brutally tortured and killed the same day, according to the Atlas of Crimes Against Serbs in the Defense-Patriotic War, authored and published by the Republic Center for Research on War, War Crimes and the Search for Missing Persons.

Among the victims were Ljubiša /Radoja/ Lazendić /1971/ who was slaughtered and then set on fire; then Svetozar /Mihajlo/ Kapetanović /1941/ who was first killed and then set on fire; and Miroslav /Samojko/ Janković /1966/ who was slaughtered.

One of the victims was Staka /Mladen/ Damjanović, then 57, who was killed near her village while defending herself with a hunting rifle, as well as Stanoje /Jovan/ Mirković /1968/ who died protecting a clearing for others.

Among those killed were Milan /Aćim/ Bunjevac /1953/, Mirosava /Risto/ Bunjevac /1924/, Ranko /Aćim/ Bunjevac /1960/, Slavojka /Bogdan/ Bunjevac /1959/.

Goran /Đorđo/ Bunjevac /1965/, Đorđo /Jovan/ Bunjevac /1935/, Koviljka /Lazar/ Bunjevac /1936/, Rajko /Jovan/ Bunjevac /1948/, Manojlo /Borivoje/ Đuka /1973/, Gojko /Novo/ Đurđić /1952/, Sreten /Tomislav/ Janković /1965/, Radomir /Radovan/ Jevtić /1957/, Žarko /Dušan/ Malešević /1957/, Milovan /Miloš/ Malešević /1964/, Nedeljko /Slobodan/ Mičić /1967/, Miro /Milan/ Pantić /1967/, Stana /Simo/ Rašević /1925/, Janja /Dušan/ Trifković /1943/, Milinko /Risto/ Trifković /1932/ and Rajko /Milinko/ Trifković /1975/ were also killed.

In this attack, four Serbs were wounded: Miloš Gorančić, Nenad /Mirko/Obradović /1966/ Branka /Milinko/ Trifković /1965/ and Branko /Milinko/ Trifković /1969/.

The remains of the victims of the crimes in Čemerno were exhumed in 1999. The identification of the bodies was carried out from June 18 to July 23, 1999, according to the Atlas of Crimes Against Serbs in the Defense-Patriotic War.

COMMANDER OF UNIT THAT PERFORMED MASSACRE OF SERBS - COMMENDED AND AWARDED WITH COLT REVOLVER

The commander of the unit that committed the crime against Serbs in the village of Čemerno was praised "for the successfully carried out action" and received a Colt revolver as a reward, while his fellow soldiers boasted that the Muslims from this area honored them for their "great feat against the Chetniks".

"At the tent /of territorial defense of Breza/ we were welcomed with joy and roasted lamb. After a short rest, we set off by truck to Breza. Everyone congratulated us on a job well done," Osman Bajtarević's war diary states.

He states that "the fighters from Papratnica arrived home around 5:00 p.m. and were welcomed with great joy."

"While passing through the village, weapons were fired, a sign that we had arrived alive and well and in the same number," Bajtarević wrote.

THERE IS NO PUNISHMENT YET FOR MONSTROUS CRIMES

The Ministry of Interior of Republika Srpska has filed several criminal charges for crimes against the civilian population and members of the Territorial Defense of Serb Republic of BiH.

In January 2018, the Court of BiH confirmed the indictment of the Prosecutor's Office of BiH against 11 defendants for a war crime committed on June 10, 1992 in Čemerno.

The accused are Džemal Hadžić, Teufik Turudić, Džemal Smola, Senad Sikira, Bejamin Sikira, Haris Sikira, Enes Durak, Mirsad Bešlija, Nusret Bešlija, Mirzet Bešlija and Hamdija Spahić.

In April of the same year, the Court of BiH confirmed the indictment against Ganić Nehru, and this case was merged with the previous one.

The case "Džemal Hadžić et al.", known as the "Čemerno" case, is in the main hearing phase before the Court of BiH. The trial is still active, and the first-instance verdict is still pending.

ORTHODOX CEMETERY AND RUINS OF HOUSES OVERGROWN WITH WEEDS - ONLY TRACES OF SERB EXISTENCE

After the crime in Čemerno, this village becomes deserted.

The only trace that people once lived there is an old Orthodox cemetery and the remains of destroyed houses that have become overgrown with weeds.

The memory of the crime in Čemerno is also preserved by a monument erected by the families of the victims.

The monument also underwent a kind of censorship when, at the request of the local authorities of Ilijaš, the inscription "victims of war crimes" was changed to "victims of war events". In addition, the monument was damaged in 2009.

According to the assessment of the Sarajevo Canton Police, a cross fell from the monument, and the cause of the fall was listed as a "natural factor", i.e. "the influence of strong winds".