RECONSTRUCTION OF THE OLD MONUMENT IN ZALAZJE BEGINS

SREBRENICA, JULY 6 /SRNA/ - Reconstruction works are underway at Zalazje near Srebrenica on the memorial ossuary and monument dedicated to Serb victims of Ustashe crimes committed on the third day of the Orthodox Feast of the Holy Trinity in 1943.

Next to this old monument and ossuary is also a new monument and ossuary dedicated to Serbs killed in the same village on St. Peter's Day in 1992. The two ossuaries from two different wars stand on the Zalazje plateau as a warning to future generations never to forget their slain ancestors, so that the same fate would not befall them.

The Mayor of Srebrenica Miloš Vučić told SRNA that descendants of Serbs killed in Zalazje have launched and are leading the reconstruction of the old monument from the Second World War, and that the work will be completed by St. Peter’s Day.

"The municipality has secured a project for the renovation of the new monument dedicated to those killed in the Defensive-Patriotic War, as well as the entire memorial complex in Zalazje, which includes both monuments, ossuaries, and the landscaping of the wider area. We plan to complete this by St. Peter's Day next year," Vučić said.

The project design for the reconstruction of the monuments and ossuaries, as well as the landscaping of the memorial complex, was prepared by Tijana Pejić from Srebrenica.

Professor Momčilo Cvjetinović from Zalazje said that Muslims attacked Serb villages in this area on major Orthodox holidays and committed mass crimes here during three wars in the 20th century.

Cvjetinović reminded that over the course of two days in Srebrenica, Zalazje, and the hamlet of Vitlovci, Ustashe forces, that is, local Muslims, killed 228 identified Serbs, including around 80 children, but that many victims were not identified as they were mutilated beyond recognition.

"Zalazje suffered on the third day of the Feast of the Holy Trinity, on June 15, 1943, when, according to incomplete data, 107 Serbs from this village and several hamlets were killed, including 45 members of the Rakić family, 16 Maksimovićs, 15 Dragičevićs, and others. In the last war, on St. Peter's Day, Muslim forces attacked the village, killing 69 Serbs; 22 were taken prisoner, but none survived. Ten people are still listed as missing," Cvjetinović said.

He stressed that the memorial complex in Zalazje stands as a witness to Serb suffering and should serve as a warning to future generations never to forget and to honour their victims so as not to experience a similar tragedy.