Unfathomed Fates After Visegrad Atrocities of '92: Consigned to Flames, Swept Away in Waters, Overlooked to This Moment
Refreshed Recollection: The Višegrad Massacres and their Unsettling Aftermath
As we mark the 33-year anniversary of the horrendous acts in Višegrad on June 27, 1992, the Society for Endangered Peoples (GfbV) reminisces, bringing attention to a chilling symbol of the dehumanization and destruction of Bosnian life by Bosnian Serb units. According to Jasna Causevic, GfbV's genocide prevention specialist, these atrocities remain not only a part of the past, but are also minimized, ignored, and insufficiently prosecuted.
The carnage in Višegrad claimed the lives of an estimated 3,000 souls, including at least 600 women and 120 kids. Perpetrated by Bosnian Serb soldiers and paramilitary groups like the "White Eagles," the violence began chiefly in May and June of 1992. Testimonies from survivors describe the systematic use of rape, torture, burning alive, and mass killings, with body disposal in the Drina River to obliterate proof.
Perhaps the most gruesome massacres took place on June 14 along Pionirska Street and on June 27 in the Bikavac neighborhood, during which around 130 people were burned to death. One of the fortunate few survivors, Zehra Turjacanin, recounted third-degree burns, gaping wounds, and a protracted struggle for survival that spanned months.
Although the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia tried and convicted some of the perpetrators, many more evaded accountability, even going so far as retiring peacefully in Serbia. Belma Zulčić, GfbV director in Bosnia and Herzegovina, points out that these offenders are still celebrated in Višegrad through wall paintings of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić, memorials, or the lack of an official commemorative culture in places like the 'Vilina Vlas' hotel, which once served as a camp for systematic violence.
Upon returning from Kalinovik, Holocaust and genocide researcher Prof. Dr. David Pettigrew criticized the continued presence of wall paintings of Mladić outside Višegrad, Kalinovik, and elsewhere, decreeming it an insensitive provocation celebrating crime.
In a plea to the German government and EU states, the GfbV suggests several measures to provide justice and respect to the survivors, including:
- Closing and transforming the 'Vilina Vlas' hotel into a national memorial site,
- Establishing a memorial for the deceased women and children,
- Marking and redesignating crime scenes into places of remembrance,
- And dismantling wall paintings that celebrate war criminals, targeting the image of Ratko Mladić at the entrance of Višegrad in particular.
Jasna Causevic can be reached at [email protected] or 0551/49906-16. For information about Belma Zulčić, you can reach out to [email protected] or +38761220883. Prof. Dr. David Pettigrew can be contacted at [email protected].
Contextual Insights:
The History of Višegrad Massacres
During the Bosnian War (1992-1995), the Višegrad massacres were part of a series of violent attacks and ethnic cleansing campaigns perpetrated by Bosnian Serb forces with the backing of paramilitary groups and the Yugoslav People's Army. The objective was to create ethnically Serb territories by eliminating Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) populations through killings, forced expulsions, and destruction of property. Višegrad, an eastern Bosnian town with a significant Bosniak population, experienced systematic massacres, summary executions, mass rapes, and deportations.
The atrocities included the destruction of important cultural heritage sites relevant to the Bosniak community, such as the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge. Men were often killed or taken to detention camps, and women suffered sexual violence as part of a broader ethnic cleansing strategy orchestrated by Bosnian Serb leaders like Radovan Karadžić, with the support of Ratko Mladić, to create a "Greater Serbia" within Bosnia.
The Role of Ratko Mladić and War Crimes
Ratko Mladić, a Bosnian Serb military commander, played a central role in guiding military operations during the war as well as the sieges and ethnic cleansing campaigns in eastern Bosnia, including Višegrad. He was indicted by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and, later, convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide for his involvement in the Srebrenica genocide and other atrocities.
Current State of Ratko Mladić Glorification in Višegrad
Despite Mladić’s conviction for war crimes and genocide, his glorification persists in some sectors in Višegrad through commemorations, murals, or gatherings that celebrate him as a hero, mirroring nationalist sentiments and disputed narratives related to the war. This glorification is a source of tension and pain for survivors and victims’ families and represents a broader regional hurdle in post-war reconciliation and managing the legacies of the conflict.
The efforts of the international community and Bosnian authorities to advance justice, remembrance, and inter-ethnic reconciliation encounter obstacles from nationalist factions that resist acknowledging the complete scope of war crimes or strive to present individuals like Mladić in a favorable light. The situation in Višegrad embodies these broader challenges in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Society for Endangered Peoples (GfbV) urges politics and general news to deliver updates on the continued glorification of war-and-conflicts perpetrators, such as Ratko Mladić, in Višegrad, even in the face of crimes-and-justice convictions. The unsolved issue of providing justice and respect to Višegrad massacres' survivors may be partially addressed through the prosecution of evading offenders, eradication of glorifying memorials, and the transformation of sites like the 'Vilina Vlas' hotel into national memorial sites.
