STEVANOVIĆ: I SAW HIM BEING CAPTURED AND SLAUGHTERED

BANJA LUKA, June 28 /SRNA/ – In a testimony published by the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre, Staniša Stevanović from the hamlet of Brađevina near Srebrenica spoke about the capture of his cousin Stojan Stevanović, who was captured and had his throat slit by Muslims on June 27, 1992, while he was unable to help him.

"They attacked us on June 27, 1992. Stojan was asleep. He got up barefoot, wearing only socks, trying to flee the village toward the Grabovica River. They caught him there and took him prisoner. They then took him behind Živko Stevanović's house, knocked him to the ground and slit his throat," Staniša testified.

He added that at the time he was on guard duty above the village and that from his position he saw what was happening, but was unable to help.

After the attackers left, he went down with several other men and recovered Stojan's body. They placed it on a handcart and took it to the road by the Grabovica River. From there, Stojan's son Milovan took the body to a garden, where an autopsy was performed.

That day, five other residents of the Brađevina hamlet were killed along with Stojan – Vlado Pavlović, Slavoljub Petrović, Novica Stanojević, Radoje Jovanović and Ljubiša Gajić. All were killed in a brutal manner.

Staniša testified about the attack and the killings before the International Court in The Hague, the District Court in Bijeljina and the Supreme Court in Banja Luka, the Memorial Centre announced.

Although he gave a detailed account of what had happened, justice for the Serb victims in the area, as he says, had never been served.

"That's how it is. There are no tears for Serb victims. Very few people have been held accountable for crimes against Serbs," Staniša Stevanović said.

His house was burned down, his livestock was taken away, and his family fled to Serbia. He remained at the front. He lost everything, but survived and raised seven children. Today, he has eighteen grandchildren.

Staniša now lives by the Grabovica River, on property he bought after the war. He has a large family, but the memory of June 27, 1992, and everything that happened that day remains with him forever.

To mark the 34th anniversary of the suffering of Serbs in the Central Podrinje and Birač region, the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre will present a series of testimonies about the suffering of the Serb people in the area during the 1992–1995 Defensive-Patriotic War that have so far been little known to the wider public.

The testimonies will be published daily on the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre's digital platforms.

The central commemoration for the 3,267 Serbs killed in the Central Podrinje and Birač regions will be held in Bratunac on July 4 under this year's slogan: "You are not invited to Bratunac, you go to Bratunac."