In Stari Brod near Višegrad, the 81st anniversary of the martyrdom of more than 6,000 Serbs of the Sarajevo-Romania region, who were killed in a monstrous manner by the Ustashas of Jure Francetić, was celebrated, and on this occasion, a memorial service was held, wreaths were laid and flowers were lowered into the Drina river.
At the commemoration, it was said that this suffering must not be forgotten and that the memory of the Serbian martyrs must be passed on to younger generations.
After the memorial service, as a sign of memory of the victims of Stari Brod, wreaths were laid by the Minister of Labor and Veterans and Disability Protection of the Republic of Srpska Danijel Egić, as well as Boško Tomić, the envoy of the President of the Republic of Srpska and the Serbian member and chairman of the BiH Presidency.
The commemoration was also attended by the mayors of Višegrad Mladen Đurević, Rogatica Milorad Jagodić, Sokolac Milovan Bjelica, Novo Goražde Mila Petković, Pale Boško Jugović, and representatives of Rudo, Han Pijesak and Foča municipalities.
Tomić told the journalists that it is time for the Serbs to unite so that it would not happen again that after 80 years they commemorate their sufferings.
“When we united in 1992, there were casualties, but far fewer civilians, and more people died in this place than during the entire Defense-Patriotic War. When we are united, no one can do anything to us and we can move forward,” he pointed out. Tomic.
He stated that it is not time to arm and fight with weapons, but it is time to fight with education and create conditions for a better life so that the youth does not leave these areas.
In his speech, Egić pointed out that the essence of all the events in the Second World War were the great sacrifices and the unprecedented crimes and atrocities that happened to the Serbian people.
“Our role is to remember this, to pass on our knowledge about this to our generations”, emphasized Egić and added that even today, after so many years, new victims are being learned about.
Protopriest-Stavrofor Dragan Vukotić said that in the last six months, new information has been obtained, which is kept in the BiH Museum in Sarajevo, according to which the pogrom of Serbs in this area began in 1941, when the Ustashas killed about 400 Serbs on the Visegrad Bridge. thrown into the Drina river.
He handed over certificates of thanks to the Rescue Center “Wolf” Foča and the Ravnogorsk movement of the Sarajevo-Romania district for their contribution to the construction and preservation of the memorial complex in Stari Brod.
The Mayor of Višegrad, Mladen Đurević, said that 81 years ago in Stari Brod, the Ustashas committed a mass slaughter of the Serbian civilian population and one of the first monstrous crimes in Europe, and emphasized that it is an obligation and a vow that their victims should not be forgotten.
“Today we have documented more than 6,000 innocent people with first and last names. Everything sounds like a figment of a twisted imagination and a nightmare from which it is difficult to wake up. That is why it is important to preserve the memory of the victims, but it is also important that we continue our lives as the descendants of the victims , knowing its value and not forgetting such events,” Đurević pointed out.
He added that the life of the Republika Srpska must be preserved, and that the greatest interest is to preserve peace and to never repeat sufferings like the one in Stari Brod.
Đurević said that he is proud that this important historical event, like many others, is being celebrated together with the Government of the Republic of Srpska, as an event of republican importance.
“I want to express the greatest respect and gratitude for the support of such events to the Serbian member of the BiH Presidency, the president, the prime minister and the ministers in the Government of the Republika Srpska. From this meeting, I also send a clear message to everyone not to divide us, not to clash, but to refer us to each other , on mutual respect, remembering this terrible crime, not forgetting their victims and the places of execution,” said Đurević.
The surviving witness of the suffering, Milorad Ćebić, told the terrible fate of the Starobro martyrs, who had no choice but to jump into the Drina.
“Whoever crossed stayed alive, and everything that was here in this place perished,” Ćebić told reporters.
The students of the “Ivo Andrić” High School Center with professor Dijana Inđić Milošević participated in the appropriate program.
During the Ustasha offensive, more than 6,000 Serbs from the areas of Sarajevo, Sokoc, Olov, Kladnje, Rogatica, Han Pijeska and Višegrad were brutally killed, who tried to cross the Drina river and seek salvation in Serbia. A number of people drowned in the Drina river, fleeing from the Ustasha.
The most massive killing took place on March 22, 1942, but the killings continued until the beginning of May 1942.
A memorial museum for the victims of Stari Brod was built in Stari Brod, where 27 sculptures with 39 characters were placed, symbolizing the gathering and entry of Serbian mothers with children in their arms into the swollen Drina.
This historic event of republican importance was commemorated in the organization of the Committee of the Government of Srpska for nurturing the tradition of liberation wars.
SRNA