Podgorica, (MINA) – The 34th anniversary of the deportation of Bosnian refugees was marked on Monday with a memorial gathering in front of the Herceg Novi police building.

The gathering, organized by the Human Rights Action (HRA), Center for Civic Education (CGO) and ANIMA – Center for Women’s and Peace Education, was attended by family members of the victims, representatives of the Government, the Parliament of Montenegro, the Municipal Assembly of Herceg Novi, the Special State Prosecutor’s Office, the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Bosniak Council, the Islamic Community, political parties, NGOs, as well as the media and citizens of Herceg Novi.

The HRA said that this is another anniversary without the re-opening of the criminal investigation, the erection of memorial or the establishment of an official remembrance day for the deportation victims.

However, according to this NGO, an important move towards the institutional marking of the crime was made in April this year.

“At a meeting with Herceg Novi Municipal Assembly councilors and Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujovic, the willingness to support the initiative to erect a memorial to the victims of deportation was expressed”, HRA recalled. 

They said that it was proposed to form a working group that would align the text of the future memorial, in order to permanently preserve the memory and express reverence to the victims.