Source: https://www.nedjelja.ba/hr/vijesti/bih/ ... dola/26744

Translation courtesy of Google...

Anniversary of the crime against the Croats of Uzdol

On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14, the 29th anniversary of the massacre and murder of 29 civilians and 12 members of the HVO carried out by members of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the "Neretva '93" action was marked in Uzdol.



The commemoration began with the laying of wreaths and a discussion about the cross in the Memorial Center where the victims were buried. Wreaths were laid by family members of the murdered, a delegation from the Municipality of Prozor-Rama, the Association of the Third Battalion and Uzdol Veterans, the Coordination of Associations Derived from the Homeland War, MNK Uzdol, the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other delegations from the social, military and political life of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Before holy mass, in peace and silence, the names of all those killed and those who died in the war were read.



Then the mass was celebrated by the parish priest of the religious community of St. Elijah the Prophet in Kruševo near Mostar, don Marko Šutalo. A dozen priests concelebrated, including the pastor, Rev. Ivan Ivancevic.

In the appropriate homily, Don Marko emphasized that today "we seek the protection of the Holy Cross, praying for the protection of this place and region". He wished that the Lord "strikes lasting progress, peace and freedom with the blessing of the cross of Christ, to which we cry from the bottom of our hearts". "Since our entire national history was marked by hardships and crosses of all kinds, we turn here in Uzdol to the Holy Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, who felt the terrible drama of the struggle between good and evil during his torment. May it be for us as well as Constantine in the conflict with Maxentius announce that in the cross is victory and salvation," the preacher said, among other things.

After the Eucharist in the Memorial Center, a memorial service was offered for all those killed.



The more time passes, the greater the desire for justice and punishment for the perpetrators of this terrible crime on Uzdol. The Hague Court acquitted the commander of the Neretva '93 operation, General of the BiH Army Sefer Halilović, and thus stopped any further process of the first military commander.

In November 2016, the trial of Enver Buza, the commander of the Independent Prozor Battalion, whose members committed the crime at Uzdol, began. Buza was sentenced to 12 years in prison, which was reduced to eight in June 2021 by the Appellate Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was followed by a postponement of the execution of the final verdict so that Buza went to serve his sentence on August 2, 2022. He was found guilty according to command responsibility because he did not punish the perpetrators while the actual perpetrators and perpetrators remained unpunished. This is what hurts the residents of Uzdol the most. Despite everything, the people of Uzdol do not give up and continue to live their lives in faith exactly as their elders and the Uzdol victims intended for them.

To meet the 25th anniversary of this tragedy, the journalist team of Katolički Tjednik visited this place of special piety in the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna and wrote a report and recorded a feature that you can watch here:

It is important for all Croats to remember and hold in their heart these events which took place... to never forget them for as long as we exist, and for our children to remember them. That being said, when we try to do so we are bombarded with hate, Centralna.BA posted an article about the massacre on Facebook and it was met with Bosniaks spamming the laughing emoji... Also not to mention the heap of threats we have received from "paramilitary" in central Bosnia... THE CROAT CONTINUES TO GUARD HIS OWN!