NEZUK, BELGRADE, Bosnia and Herzegovina – More than 6,000 people set off Tuesday from Nezuk near Sapna on an annual Peace March to Srebrenica to honor thousands of Bosniak men and boys killed during the genocide on July 11, 1995.
Participants will walk the 100-kilometer (62-mile) route toward Potocari for the next three days, following the path Bosniaks took 30 years ago in a desperate attempt to reach the free territories in Tuzla or Kladanj.
Survivors are leading this year’s march.
Marchers are expected to arrive in Potocari on July 10, ahead of a collective funeral the next day at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center, where the remains of seven newly identified genocide victims will be laid to rest.
This is the 21st Peace March, marking the 30th anniversary of the genocide in the UN-declared “safe zone” of Srebrenica.
For survivors, the march is a way to process trauma and a responsibility to share their stories with younger generations.
Among participants is Ademir Mesic, joining the march for the 14th time, who said it is difficult each year to walk the path and listen to what survivors endured.
“It is different to hear testimonies from survivors while walking the same route they took,” he said. “The message is that it should never happen again.”
Teens like Edin Djogaz, 16, from Tuzla and Ajna Trapo, 17, from Travnik, also joined the march to honor the victims and preserve the memory of the genocide.
“While walking the path where people were killed, many thoughts cross your mind,” said Trapo.
Hana Malkic, 17, is participating for the first time. “I believe this is the least we can do.”
A memorial of remembrance and resistance to denial
The Peace March, held annually in July, is to preserve the culture of remembrance of the genocide and to counter denial and revisionism.
Participants walk 30 kilometers daily, with some parts of the route demanding significant physical endurance.
During the genocide in July 1995, Bosniaks fled along the route in the opposite direction to escape the attack by Serb forces on the UN-protected enclave.
Seven victims to be buried July 11
The remains of seven victims, including two 19-year-old boys, will be buried July 11. The victims were killed by Bosnian Serb forces and their allies during the genocide and were later found in mass graves in locations, including Liplje, Baljkovica, Suljici and Kamenicko Hill.
Many of the remains are incomplete, with some families preparing to bury only a few bones of their loved ones. So far, 6,765 victims have been buried at the memorial cemetery in Potocari, while around 250 have been buried in other cemeteries at the families’ request.
More than 1,000 victims of the genocide are still missing.
Trials and convictions
International and local courts have sentenced 54 individuals to a total of 781 years in prison and five life sentences for genocide, crimes against humanity and other crimes committed in Srebrenica in July 1995.
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague sentenced 18 individuals, including Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, to life in prison for genocide and related crimes.
Bosnia’s state court sentenced 27 people to a total of 446 years in prison, while Serbia has convicted five individuals for crimes in Srebrenica, including four former “Scorpions” members. Croatia has sentenced two former “Scorpions” members to 15 years each.
Ten suspects remain at large and are currently unavailable to Bosnia’s judiciary.
ANADOLU
