The Association for Social Research and Communications (UDIK) informs the public that on Thursday, October 22, 2015, will attend the commemoration in Sjeverin on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the killing of the victims from Sjeverin.

We remind that on October 22, 1992 a bus traveling from Rudo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Priboj in the Sandzak area of Serbia, was stopped in the Bosnian village of Mioce by four members of the "Osvetnici" (Avengers) paramilitary unit under the command of Milan Lukic. The victims were taken to Visegrad, where they were physically and psychologically abused, and later executed.

 We emphasize that in July 2005 for this crime Higher Court of Belgrade sentenced Milan Lukic, Oliver Krsmanovic and Dragutin Dragicevic to 20 years in prison, while Djordje Sevic to 15 years in prison. In early August 2005 Milan Lukic was arrested in Argentina and extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) where he was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes committed in Visegrad.

In the past two years UDIK has twice marked kidnapping in Strpci. For the first time UDIK will attend the commemoration in Sjeverin. Understanding Sjeverin is extremely important for the interpretation of the war in Bosnia as well as Strpci and this tragic event clearly demonstrates the involvement of official Belgrade in this crime. All murderers have not been convicted, and the Serbia has not recognized this crime. The Supreme Court did not accept that the perpetrators were members were of the Army of Republic of Srpska, which was financed and supported by the former Yugoslavia. UDIK notes that the question of Sjeverin is not only moral, but also political responsibility of all of us in civil society and we need to mark it in a way that is worthy of dealing with the past and peace through the concept of responsibility.

The Association for Social Research and Communications (UDIK) helps post-Yugoslav societies to establish the rule of law and to accept the legacy of massive human rights violations in order to identify the criminal responsibility of perpetrators, to meet justice and prevent the repetition of such crimes. It is the affirmation of the value of an open civil society, with clearly defined priorities in terms of promotion and protection of human rights, as well as youth involvement in social and political processes through peace activism.

PRESS SERVICE