MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD FOR PRIDVORCI PIT MARTYRS

TREBINJE, JUNE 24 /SRNA/ - A commemoration was held today in Trebinje to mark 84 years since the killing of 13 Serbs who were thrown into the Pridvorci Pit by Ustaše forces in 1941.

A memorial service for the victims was held by Priest Milan Bužanin. Trebinje Mayor Mirko Ćurić laid flowers at the memorial to the 13 Serb victims. Wreaths were also laid by the victims' descendants, representatives of the city's War Veterans and Social Welfare Department and the Trebinje War Veterans Organisation. Ćurić stated that remembering innocent victims is all generations' responsibility. "We must not forget. But we must not hate either. They were killed simply because they were Serbs. Our remembrance is our response. Our future must be unity, freedom, and the fight against all forms of evil," Ćurić said. Željko Šakota, a descendant of one of the victims, said that the perpetrators of the atrocities in Pridvorci never faced justice. In remembrance, a memorial chapel was erected near the pit in 2006. "I am grateful to everyone who helped preserve the names of our ancestors from oblivion. It is our duty to remember - not out of hatred, but for the sake of future generations," Šakota said. Last year, the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church included the Pridvorci martyrs in the Diptych of Saints, along with the victims from Prebilovci and Jagodnjača. August 6 is the commemoration day dedicated to these martyrs.