Tuzla dawned this May 25 in a special silence. For 31 years, the city of salt, youth and defiance has been carrying the burden of one of the most tragic dates in its history, when the massacre at the Gate was committed, that is, the crime in which 71 young lives were lost.
On this day in 1995, at 20 hours and 55 minutes, a grenade fired from the position of the Army of Republika Srpska on Mount Ozren interrupted the youth gathered at the then symbol of life in Tuzla.
The gate, a place of meeting, companionship and hope, was transformed into a scene of unimaginable tragedy in just a few seconds. 71 people were killed, while more than 200 citizens were wounded. The average age of the victims was only 21 years.
Among the victims was two-year-old Sandro Kalesić, the youngest victim of the massacre, who was in his parents’ arms at the time of the explosion. His name still symbolizes the pain that never stopped.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has legally established that Novak Đukić, the former commander of the Ozren Tactical Group of the Republika Srpska Army, was responsible for the shelling of Tuzla. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for ordering an artillery attack on the Gate.
However, despite the final verdict, Đukić is not serving a prison sentence even three decades after the crime. Bh. he has been unavailable to the judiciary since 2014, when he did not appear for serving his sentence, stating that he was undergoing treatment in Serbia. A warrant was issued for him, but due to his possession of Serbian citizenship, he was not extradited to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Today’s anniversary program begins in the Slana Banja complex, where wreaths and flowers will be laid in memory of the civilian victims of the war. The central commemoration will be held at Kapija, a place that has been carrying the collective pain of Tuzla for three decades.
Tonight, exactly at 8:55 p.m., an alarm siren will sound, that is, a sound that in Tuzla not only signifies a memory, but also a wound that has never healed.
Today is the Day of Mourning in Tuzla Canton, flags are lowered to half-mast, and public events are adapted to the dignified commemoration of the anniversary of one of the most serious crimes against civilians during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Today, the gate is not only a place of suffering, but a permanent reminder that in one moment the dreams, youth and future of a generation that believed that war will not win life were extinguished.
On the night of May 25, 1995, the following people died at the Tuzla gate: Razija Dedović, Alma Brguljak, Senada Hasanović, Fahrudin Ramić, Pera Marinović, Šaban Mustačević, Edhem Sarajlić, Adnan Beganović, Asmir Bakalović, Suzana Dušić, Almasa Ćerimović, Amir Dapa, Amir Đuzel, Vesna Kurtalić, Edisa Memic, Sanja Ćajić, Nedim Rekić, Mustafa Vuković, Adnan Hujdurović, Edina Ahmetašević, Amira Mehinović, Franc Kantor, Asim Slijepčević and Sandro Kalesić.
Edin Hodžić, Indira Borić, Sulejman Mehanović, Damir Kurbašić, Ilinka Tadić, Selma Nuhanović, Edin Mehmedović, Nihad Šišić, Amir Čekić, Indira Okanović, Ilvana Bošnjaković, Admir Alispahić, Jasenko Rosić, Damir Bojkić, Samir Mujić, Rajif Rahmani, Almir Jahić, Lejla Bučuk, Azur Mujabašić, Azur Vantić and Suzana Abuismail also lost their lives.
Šemsa Hasičić, Senahid Salamović, Nenad Marković, Hamdija Hakić, Petar Stjepanović, Elvis Alagić, Lejla Atiković, Armin Šišić, Rusmir Ponjavić, Alem Hidanović, Zada Dedić, Vanja Kurbegović, Jelena Stojičić, Hasa Hrustanović, Ago Hadžić, Selma Čaušević, Nešet Mujanović, Adrijana Milić, Samir Čirak, Muri Fatušić, Elvir Murselović, Adnan Saimović, Jasminka Sarajlić and four other people who have not been identified, he writes Klix.
