DODIK: REMEMBRANCE OF ČEMERNO IS A DUTY SO THE TRAGEDY OF 1992 IS NEVER REPEATED

BANJA LUKA, JUNE 9 /SRNA/ – President Milorad Dodik stated that there is scarcely a place in Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH that has not been marked by the suffering of Serbs, destroyed homes and displaced families, noting that some of the most tragic examples are found in the Sarajevo-Romanija region, particularly during the early stages of the civil war in BiH.

"One such place is Čemerno, a village near Ilijaš, which requires no grand words because the pain is too deep and too heavy for the human voice", Dodik told SRNA ahead of the 34th anniversary of the crime committed there. Reflecting on the June 10, 1992 attack, Dodik said Čemerno was permanently scarred on that day when Muslim-Croat forces killed 30 Serb civilians and looted and burned their homes. "After this crime, the village was left deserted and ethnically cleansed. The only witnesses that life once existed there, that people celebrated, married and raised families, are the old Orthodox cemetery and the ruins of houses overgrown with weeds", Dodik said. He stressed that in a single brutal attack, 30 lives were extinguished - fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, grandmothers and grandfathers. "Thirty souls were tortured and then killed solely because they were Serbs, living on their own land, in their own homes, under their own sky. They threatened no one. They lived ordinary lives, caring for their families, homes and property. Instead of children's laughter and preparations for farm work, there were screams, flames, bloodshed and finally only the chilling silence of death", Dodik said. According to him, June 10, 1992, transformed Čemerno into another symbol of the suffering of innocent Serbs. "The nature of those responsible is reflected in the fact that the commander of the unit that carried out the crime against Serb civilians in Čemerno was praised for what was described as a 'successfully executed operation' and was even awarded a revolver for a 'great feat against Chetniks'. For them, a 'great feat' meant attacking children, women and the elderly, committing acts of abuse and torture. Where were those 'great' commanders when confronting Serb soldiers on the front lines? If this was considered heroism - killing people at their doorstep, it tells us exactly what kind of people and soldiers they were", Dodik stressed. He added that the lack of justice and what he described as the silence of the BiH judiciary regarding crimes committed against Serbs remains a source of pain. "Decades have passed, and we still ask whether the tears of the mothers of Čemerno hurt less and whether the blood and suffering of these innocent people matter less in the eyes of earthly justice. Are prosecutors and judges not at least somewhat ashamed of the legal diplomas they hold and the offices they occupy"? Dodik asked. He noted that the victims' families and Republika Srpska as a whole continue to await punishment for those responsible and equal treatment for all innocent victims. "The only thing left for us is to pass the memory of Čemerno on to future generations, because a people who forget their victims risk losing part of their identity, existence and dignity. We must proudly and respectfully preserve the truth about our suffering so that such tragedy is never repeated. The only guarantee that crimes like these will never happen again is Republika Srpska and its institutions, which must remain strong, determined and united", Dodik said.