Bosnian Croat officials, religious leaders, veterans and family members of victims marked the 28th anniversary of the massacre in the southern village of Grabovica, when members of the then Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RBiH) left 33 locals dead.

The commemoration program began with the laying of wreaths at the monument to the victims of the Homeland War in Grabovica. A delegation of Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) and Croat National Assembly officials, led by Dragan Covic, also paid tribute to the innocent victims.

After the laying of wreaths, the head of the Association of Croat Victims “Grabovica 93” Josip Dreznjak addressed the audience. The gathered went to the local cemetery praying on the way of the cross, after which a holy mass was served for all those killed in Grabovica.

“We have been waiting for 28 years to find an easier way for us to remember all the sacrifices in BiH, and especially the Grabovica victims in an appropriate and dignified way and not to have a constant trauma in their families. The families of these victims deserved to be able to continue to remember and pray for them in peace as we will do today. On such a principle, BiH as a state has the opportunity to continue to function as a state governed by the rule of law and to slowly get rid of that time of responsibility for committed crimes and to set on a normal path. I am convinced that Grabovica today is a symbol of how not to work when it comes to the attitude towards the Homeland War in BiH and towards crimes, ie victims,” Covic said in a statement for the media.

The crime occurred during the Bosniak-Croat conflict in September 1993, when the Bosnian Army members entered the village as part of a military operation and killed 33 civilians including a 4-year-old girl and 87-year-old man.

The international court for war crimes in former Yugoslavia, the Hague-based ICTY, had charged wartime Bosnian Army senior officer Sefer Halilovic with the Grabovica crimes on grounds of superior criminal responsibility, after finding that the Bosnian Army forces were sent to Grabovica following his order.

The Court determined, however, that the murders in Grabovica were considered crimes but that Halilovic had no command authority and could not be considered responsible.

The prosecution appealed the ruling but the court confirmed the acquittal verdict two years later.

Former members of the RBiH Army were tried before domestic courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina for individual killings, but no one for war crimes against civilians and/or for command responsibility. To date, five members of the RBiH Army have been convicted.

Mustafa Hota was sentenced to nine years in prison, Enes Sakrak was sentenced to ten years in prison, while Nihad Vlahovljak, Sead Karagic and Haris Rajkic were sentenced to thirteen years in prison each.