Muhamed Karic was 14 when, according to prosecutors, Bosnian Serb forces came to his village of Novoseoci and killed 44 people. He believes that the only reason he survived the massacre is because of his small frame at the time.
On September 21 and 22, in 1992, members of the Army of Republika Srpska attacked the village and separated men from women and children. The men were then taken to nearby Ivan Polje where they were executed by a firing squad.
VEZANE VIJESTI
Their remains were buried in a landfill.
On Wednesday, police arrested nine of the 11 people charged with involvement in the massacre. One suspect is currently serving a prison sentence in Poland for his involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, while another one is reportedly living in Canada and prosecutors will request his extradition.
The suspects are former high-ranking officials of the Sokolac Crisis Staff, army and police and are charged with participating in a joint criminal enterprise since they are believed to be the direct perpetrators of the 1992 Novoseoci murder.
Karic told N1 he remembers that fateful day well as he lost his 53-years-old father, his uncles, relatives and neighbours.
He said he also remembers the killing of a local woman, Devla Kahric.
“We didn’t see it directly, she went after her husband, Nail. She was alone. She was murdered some 200 metres away from here, near the mosque. That soldier probably did it arbitrarily,” he said.
Muhamed is the oldest male child who survived that day, while his friend, another 14-year-old at the time, was killed.
“I was in eighth grade. It was probably because of my small frame at the time. This was probably the main reason, a circumstance, my fate,” he said.
The mass grave, containing the remains of the victims, was found eight years after the massacre.
“Forty-five people were killed. The mass grave was discovered in September 2000,” he explained, adding that it was discovered based on a tip.
“Just like any other (mass grave). Without any witnesses who would reveal the location where the bodies of the killed victims are, it is difficult to get any adequate information,” he explained.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, those killed were buried in the ruins of the mosque that was blown up and the village was set on fire. Muhamed said 99 percent of the village was destroyed.
“When this happened, that day of my life, when people were captured here, when we were deported to Sarajevo – those people who stayed here were shot and dragged to Ivan Polje. That’s about six or seven kilometres away from here. That is where they were put into a mass grave.”
But Karic said he does not find it difficult to return to Novoseoska.
“This place is part of me,” he said, adding that he never faced any problems there when he would visit.
Karic said he was always certain – although it is happening very slowly, one day justice will be served. He described how he felt when he heard that people were arrested for their involvement in the massacre on Wednesday.
“I expected something to happen. I didn’t know when and how much it would affect me. I am glad that this happened. The feeling is difficult to describe,” he said.
“Justice will never completely be served. What was done can never be made right. But I often say – the truth about who did what and who is guilty must be known,” he said.
Karic could not say whether any more people than those who were arrested are guilty of what happened, but said that he believes that prosecutors do know this.
