10 December 2010: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the United Nations Development Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNDP BIH) in partnership with the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees and the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina organized a Regional conference on promoting a holistic approach to Memorials and Remembrance in Sarajevo from 9th to 10th December 2010.
The conference was aimed at initiating a process of dialogue between governments and civil society on models of commemoration and remembrance regarding atrocities that took place during the conflicts in the regions of the Western Balkans during the 1990’s. The conference focused on how to commemorate the thousands of victims of such atrocities, including persons missing from armed conflict, rape victims, victims of torture and other victims of crimes against humanity and violations of human rights. Of particular importance was the concept of exploring how to commemorate and honor victims, regardless of their ethnic, religious or national origin.
“I welcome the holding of this conference as an opportunity for us to exchange opinions and present expectations on the issue of memorials to missing persons. It was useful to hear how this issue was resolved in other parts of the world. Meetings like this boost the atmosphere of understanding and assist in establishing the facts”, Nedeljko Mitrović, president of the RS Organization of detained and fallen soldiers and missing civilians.
Julijana Rosandić, president of the Union of Family Associations of Civil Victims of War of the Republic of Croatia, said following the conference that „each regional conference is a plus for mutual understanding and helps us to reconcile opinions on difficult topics. A few years ago these topics would have been almost impossible to discuss. The joint work of missing persons’ family representatives simply has no alternative“.
“We are disappointed that the authorities in BiH have failed to completely implement the Law on Missing Persons, which would have enabled funding for the creation of memorials. In this context we are dissatisfied that mass graves have not been marked properly as war crime sites. However, we families of victims are encouraged with the discussions during the conference and we hope the process that we work on will be improved and expedited”, Ahmet Grahić, president of the Bosniak Union of Family Associations of Missing and Detained Persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said.
“Promoting a universal memorial is a very good idea for the future of our children who should learn a lesson from the past, regardless of the various memorials built so far by all ethicities in BiH. Unity is good for our future. I hope that in some 4 years we will be able to look back and say that we have accomplished something”, Zvonko Kubinek, president of Family Association of Croat Defenders of Soli-Tuzla said.[:bs]
Međunarodna komisija za nestale osobe (ICMP) i Program Ujedinjenih naroda za razvoj u Bosni i Hercegovini (UNDP BiH) u partnerstvu sa Ministarstvom za ljudska prava i izbjeglice Bosne i Hercegovine i Ministarstvom pravde Bosne i Hercegovine organizovali su regionalnu konferenciju posvećenu promovisanju univerzalnog pristupa spomen-obilježjima i sjećanju, koja se održala u Sarajevu od 9. do 10. decembra 2010. godine.
Cilj konferencije bio je otpočinjanje dijaloga između vladinih institucija i civilnog sektora o vidovima komemoracije i sjećanja na ratne zločine počinjene tokom oružanih sukoba na Zapadnom Balkanu u 90-tim godinama prošlog vijeka. Konferencija se fokusirala na načine komemoracije hiljada žrtava ratnih zločina, kao što su osobe nestale u oružanim sukobima, žrtve silovanja, žrtve mučenja i žrtve ostalih vidova zločina protiv čovječnosti i kršenja ljudskih prava. Naročito značajan je bio koncept istraživanja načina na koji bi se odala počast žrtvama bez obzira na njihovu etničku, vjersku ili nacionalnu pripadnost.
„Pozdravljam održavanje ove konferencije koja je za nas prilika da razmijenimo mišljenja i prezentujemo očekivanja na temu spomen-obilježja za nestala lica. Bilo je korisno čuti kako je ovaj problem riješen u drugim dijelovima svijeta. Sastanci poput ovog pospješuju atmosferu razumijevanja i pomažu u utvđivanju činjenica o onome što se desilo“, izjavio je nakon konferencije Nedeljko Mitrović, predsjednik Organizacije porodica zarobljenih i poginulih boraca i nestalih civila RS.
Julijana Rosandić, predsjednica Zajednice udruga hrvatskih civilnih stradalnika domovinskog rata Republike Hrvatske rekla je da je „svaka regionalna konferencija plus u smislu razumijevanja i pomirenja stavova o teškim temama. Prije nekoliko godina razgovor na ovakve teme je bio skoro pa nemoguć. Zajednički rad predstavnika porodica nestalih jednostavno nema alternativu“.
„Razočarani smo time što vlasti u BiH nisu u potpunosti implementirale Zakon o nestalim osobama BiH čime bi se omogućilo finansiranje spomen-obilježja. U tom smislu nismo zadovoljni što masovne grobnice nisu propisno obilježene kao mjesta stradanja. Međutim, kao porodice žrtava smo ohrabreni konferencijom jer se kroz ovakve skupove nadamo poboljšanju i ubrzanju procesa kojim se bavimo“, izjavio je Ahmet Grahić, predsjednik Saveza bošnjačkih udruženja porodica zarobljenih i nestalih osoba u Bosni i Hercegovini.
„Promoviranje univerzalnog memorijala je jako dobra ideja za budućnost naše djece koja treba da iz toga nauče i izvuku pouku, bez obzira na šarolikost memorijala dosada izgrađenih od strane naroda u BiH. Zajedništvo je dobro za našu bolju budućnost. Nadam se da ćemo za se 4 godine naći i sumirati ostvarene rezultate razgovora na ovoj konferenciji“, izjavio je Zvonimir Kubinek, predsjednik Udruge obitelji hrvatskih branitelja poginulih i nestalih u Domovinskom ratu HVO Soli Tuzla.[:ar][:es][:]





