Bosnian War’s ‘Disappeared’ Remembered with Roses

Participants at the event with a banner reading “Where are our loved ones?” Photo: Missing Persons Institute.

A memorial event to remember those who went missing during the 1992-95 Bosnian war and to mark the Day of the Disappeared was held in the town of Mostar on Monday by the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina and war victims’ associations from all over the country.

“White roses were thrown into the River Neretva from the Old Bridge in Mostar at five minutes to 12 in honour of the victims, the missing persons who are still being searched for,” said Emza Fazlic, spokesperson for the Missing Persons Institute.

She said that the participants then walked together to Spanski Square, where an exhibition about missing persons by Adis Hukanovic, entitled ‘Where are They?’, is on display.

Dijana Strujic, president of the Association of Families of the Killed and Missing Croat Veterans from Bugojno, said she has been searching her husband Mihovil for 28 years.

She said he was first detained in a hotel in Bugojno, then at various detention camps, the worst of which was at the Iskra football stadium.

“They were taken to Rostovo in late September 1993. My husband’s fate beyond that date is not known to me. The same goes for 19 other people who were taken to Rostovo with him,” Strujic said.

She said she believes that her husband’s remains are in Rostovo, where the remains of four other people have been found, but it will be hard to find them unless the perpetrators are prosecuted and reveal where the bodies are buried.

“We are all convinced they are at that location, but it will be difficult to find the bones of our loved ones without the perpetrators of the crime,” she explained.

Elvir Custo, of the Association of Families of the Missing Persons Istina – Kalinovik ’92, said he has been searching his brother, who was 17 at the time of his disappearance, since 1992.

His brother was among 23 Bosniaks who were “killed and then set on fire” in a barn in Ratine in the municipality of Foca, he said. The barn grave has been exhumed, but only a few bones were found, he added.

“The perpetrators of the crime relocated the grave, so it was impossible to find all bones of the killed people,” Custo said.

He claimed that the municipal authorities in Kalinovik don’t have the will to provide any help in the search for the Bosniaks who are still missing.

“As far as the search for the disappeared is concerned, the families are facing huge problems, because many mothers have unfortunately died without finding their loved ones. My mother Hasna is one of them. She did not live to find her son and bury him properly,” Custo said.

Milan Mandic, president of the Association of Families of the Missing Persons from the Sarajevo-Romanija Region, said he has been looking for his father Bozo Mandic for 29 years.

His father was a 66 years old and severely disabled at the time he disappeared.

“I have searched for my father since June 24, 1992. I don’t believe I will ever find him,” Mandic said.

Fazlic said that 7,604 missing persons from the Bosnian war are still being sought.

“In the Srebrenica area, we are still searching for around 1,200 missing persons,” said the Missing Persons Institute spokesperson.

However, the remains of 25,500 missing persons from the 1992-95 war have been found, she added: “Around 80 per cent of the disappeared have been found, identified and handed over to their families.”