Serb victims commemorated in Croatia

SLAVONSKA POZEGA Serb victims killed on December 10, 1991 were commemorated in the Croatian villages of Jeminovac and Snjegavic on Thursday. The commemoration for the 42 Serb victims was attended by Croatia's President Ivo Josipovic, Serb Democratic Forum Veljko Dzakula, representatives of Serb parties and organizations and families and friends of the victims. Serb victims commemorated in Croatia Josipovic laid a wreath at the memorial and spoke to the victims’ families. He noted that the perpetrators still had not been found but that the “police are doing their job”. The commemoration was also attended by Serbian Ambassador to Croatia Stanimir Vukicevic and Serbian Consul in Vukovar Zivorad Simic. Slavonska Pozega District Deputy Head Miroslav Grozdanic said that 18 men and 24 women had been killed, adding that 16 victims had been between 70 and 86 years old. Croat forces performed a forcible evacuation of 26 Serb villages in late October 1991. 2,120 Serbs left their homes and organized plundering and systematic torching and blowing up Serb homes started soon after. Their houses were destroyed in order to cover up the evidence of robberies and to keep the Serbs from returning. Elderly people, who did not want or could not leave their homes, were killed during the Croat forces’ rampage. Veritas Documentation and Information Center says that Croats claimed that Serbs had destroyed their villages “so nothing would end up in the hands of Croats”. Most of the Sebs left to Bosnia-Herzegovina but some found refuge in the villages of Vrhovci, Cecavski Vucjak and Snjegavic whose residents refused to leave. Croat forces launched an attack on the villages at dawn on December 10, 1991. The civilians did not put up any fight and started fleeing toward Bosnia but 42 of them were massacred. Tanjug

Serb victims commemorated in Croatia

Josipović laid a wreath at the memorial and spoke to the victims’ families. He noted that the perpetrators still had not been found but that the “police are doing their job”.

The commemoration was also attended by Serbian Ambassador to Croatia Stanimir Vukićević and Serbian Consul in Vukovar Živorad Simić.

Slavonska Požega District Deputy Head Miroslav Grozdanić said that 18 men and 24 women had been killed, adding that 16 victims had been between 70 and 86 years old.

Croat forces performed a forcible evacuation of 26 Serb villages in late October 1991. 2,120 Serbs left their homes and organized plundering and systematic torching and blowing up Serb homes started soon after. Their houses were destroyed in order to cover up the evidence of robberies and to keep the Serbs from returning.

Elderly people, who did not want or could not leave their homes, were killed during the Croat forces’ rampage. Veritas Documentation and Information Center says that Croats claimed that Serbs had destroyed their villages “so nothing would end up in the hands of Croats”.

Most of the Sebs left to Bosnia-Herzegovina but some found refuge in the villages of Vrhovci, Čečavski Vučjak and Šnjegavić whose residents refused to leave. Croat forces launched an attack on the villages at dawn on December 10, 1991. The civilians did not put up any fight and started fleeing toward Bosnia but 42 of them were massacred.