Anniversary of Murder of 45 Bosniaks Marked in Bugojno

The ceremony marking the murder of Bosniaks, which was held under the title “A prayer for the dead – A reminder for the living”, between July 24 to 31, 2011. On Sunday, July 31 several hundre people joined a procession from central Bugojno to Vrbanja. The participants carried banners saying: “We want justice for Vrbanja”, “Vrbanja – detention camp for Bosniaks”, “Why is Vrbanja not spoken about?”.

Flowers were then laid on a memorial and a prayer served in a local mosque. The marking of the 18th anniversary of the crimes against 45 Bosniaks from Vrbanja was completed with a visit to the cemetery.

Mirsad Teskeredzic, President of “Vrbanja 1993” Association of families of the killed people, expressed his resentment over the fact that Slavko Sakic, former member of “Garavi” Unit with the Croatian Defence Council, HVO in Bugojno , is the only person who has been tried for crimes in Vrbanja so far.

In September 2008 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Slavko Sakic to eight and a half years in prison after Sakic had concluded a guilt admission agreement with the State Prosecution.

“The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina has done very little in terms of bringing to justice criminals from Vrbanja. I want those who committed this crime to be brought to justice. Slavko Sakic could not have killed 45 victims on his own,” Teskeredzic considers.

Teskeredzic announced that a letter would be submitted to the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the near future, asking it to “also process other persons” who committed the murders in Vrbanja.

A.J.