Bosnian Serbs honor Bratunac victims

Bosnian Serbs honor Bratunac victims

Bishop Vasilije conducted the liturgy in honor of the victims, saying that they died “simply for being Orthodox Serbs.”

The bishop called for forgiveness, propagation of peace, love and unity among nations.

He added that reconciliation was not possible without justice, and that justice meant that “those who committed crimes against Serbs must be punished just as those who committed crimes against other nations.”

In 1992, on Petrovdan, a Serb Orthodox Church religious holiday dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, strong Muslim forces under the command of Naser Orić raided the eastern Bosnian Serb villages of Zalazje, Biljača, Sase and Zagone, killing 69 civilians, wounding 70, while 19 remain listed as missing.

The villages were then pillaged, burned and leveled to the ground.

Last year, Orić was found guilty on an indictment that charged him with violations of the laws or customs of war and sentenced to two years in prison by the Hague Tribunal.

Serb sources put the number of Serb victims in the area of Bratunac and Srebrenica during the 1992-1995 war at over 3,200.

The ceremony dedicated to the anniversary of the crime against the Serbs in the area was not attended by any of the Bosnian Muslim politicians, while the only international representative that present was the head of the local Office of the High Representative.