May carries a special weight for Brčak. Memories of horrific events, murders and torture during 1992 are flooding in. The beginning of May is especially difficult for the families of the brutally murdered civilians Hajrudin Muzurović and Husein Krša. Photos of the liquidation of the two Brčaks at the entrance to the Crafts Center in Brčko went around the world, and more than three decades later, the memorial plaque does not exist.
Joint action
Therefore, the Association for Social Research and Communications (UDIK), the Center for Nonviolent Action and ProPeace Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a joint action to mark unmarked places of suffering, paid tribute to the two murdered Brčaks and remembered the anniversary of the murders. They marked the place of liquidation in the Craft Center in Brčko.
– It is important that we are here, that we mark this location in an appropriate way and point out that there must be a place to remember the murder of Husein Krša and Hajrudin Muzurović. Here, as well as in many other places throughout BiH, there are locations that are still the subject of silence and denial, said Tamara Zrnović, a member of the Center for Nonviolent Action team.
She added that in most cases there is still no worthy memorial that will remind and warn of the evil that happened. She expressed her solidarity with all the victims, and pointed out the importance of messages that it should never happen again, to anyone and anywhere.
ProPeace in BiH has been supporting UDIK for years in activities related to the culture of memory. Director of ProPeace Ljiljana Siničković pointed out that they nurture an inclusive practice of memorialization.
– It is not only an act of remembrance, but also an important foundation for strengthening social cohesion and preventing future violence, Siničković said.
And for the fourth year now, UDIK has been asking the competent institutions in the Brčko District to place a memorial plaque at the place of the liquidation of the two Brčaks.
– For the fourth year, we have been appealing to the local authorities to mark this place of remembrance in the Craft Center. Muzurović and Kršo were not the only ones killed in that locality. But their murder was recorded on cameras. This indicates the additional monstrosity of this crime. The authorities in Brc should know that by ignoring this initiative, they are participating in selective remembrance and are further deepening the pain of the families of those killed, emphasized UDIK coordinator Edvin Kanka Ćudić.
He added that a memorial plaque would mean that the government treats all citizens responsibly, and that society heals its war wounds together.
– Young people pass by this place every day without the slightest awareness of the crimes committed. It is precisely because of them that we will continue to persevere with this initiative, emphasized our interlocutor.
On the anniversary of the liquidations, UDIK published a memorial to the two murdered Brčaks in our Liberation. In a statement sent after the commemoration, the organizations recalled that at the beginning of May 1992, the police station in Brčko was used to detain civilians of Bosniak and Croat nationality. Members of the Army of Republika Srpska had control over the facility.
“On May 7, 1992, Goran Jelisić took two civilians, Husein Krša and Hajrudin Muzurović, from the Police Station to Zanatski centra Street and killed them,” it was announced.
The bodies of the murdered were found years later in the secondary mass grave of Gorica. Goran Jelisić, who called himself Serbian Adolf, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for, among other things, the murders in the Crafts Center in Brc.
And the families of those killed are still waiting for a piece of plaque that will permanently and institutionally mark the location where the dreams of their loved ones were cut short and the lives of their loved ones violently extinguished.
The sister of murdered Hajrudin Muzurović, Šuhra Ahmetović, told us that May is the most difficult month in her life. Her birthday is in May, and in the same month she heard from her brother for the last time in 1992. A few days later, Hajrudin was killed. A memorial plaque would mean a lot to her.
Forgetting is not an option
– At least let it be known why and where they were killed. We need to know why civilians were killed in that way, Suhra told us.
The son of the murdered Husein Krša, Mustafa, said that 34 years ago, his father was killed exactly at the age of 34. The villains, he emphasized, did not want him to live today.
– They didn’t make it, grandma. Here is Krš. Here is Brčko and Brčak. Here are your sons. Your daughters-in-law and granddaughters are there, and your mother is there. We will fight for you and your friend Hajra. We promise, you will not be forgotten, said Mustafa.
Eight-year-old Jaila is the granddaughter of the murdered Husein Krša. She read the letter to her grandfather, whom she never had the chance to meet.
– My dear grandfather Huso, I am your granddaughter Jaila. We have never met, but I love you very much, said the girl.
After the program, the temporary board was removed by the organizers at the request of the Brčan police.
