Written by: Zoran Stojanović

While the Neretvica rushed towards the Neretva in its spring whim, everything around it was in bloom and changing from winter gray to green. Just at that time, the dark cloud of war hung over both Bosnia and Herzegovina and the gentle valley of Neretvica. And when everything wakes up, some people overcome by evil decided to stop the lives of their neighbors and soak the newly blossomed and green orchards with their blood.

It happened on April 16^th, 1993, when, under the cover of night, members of the BiH Army arrived in Trusina and at daybreak began to commit evil. Death screams and wails of fear echoed in the Neretvica and could be heard all the way to Zec mountain. It was a time that nobody wants to remember and cannot forget. Just so we don't forget, every year since that ominous 1993, the crime against 23 Croats has been commemorated. Then 15 civilians and eight captured members of the Croatian Defence Council were brutally killed.

This year's 31^st anniversary commemoration took place like every year on April 16^th, in the organization of associations stemming from the Homeland War of the municipality of Konjic. The commemoration began with the laying of wreaths and a prayer in front of the memorial in Trusina. After that, the Holy Mass celebration in the church of St. Anthony in Žitače was led by rev. Marin Marić, parish priest in Obri (Kostajnica) and Solakova Kula.

Only the names remain

The crime in Trusina was committed by the members of the special purpose unit of the BiH Army,

Zulfikar. It is difficult for many to talk about this terrible crime. These are painful moments for surviving family members. They drown their trauma and grief in prayer and seeking justice for their innocence. The civilians killed were unarmed, unprotected and unable to defend themselves. Likewise, captured, disarmed HVO soldiers were killed.

1.      Jure (ime oca Ante) Anđelić, rođ. 1926.

2.      Ante (Tadija) Anđelić, 1972.

3.      Andrija (Ilija) Drljo, 1947.

4.      Franjo (Ilija) Drljo, 1942.

5.      Ante (Jozo) Drljo, 1936.,

6.      Ivan (Pero) Drljo, 1939.

7.      Kata (Ivan) Drljo, 1937.

8.      Kata (Mićo) Drljo, 1918.

9.      Tomo (Andrija) Drljo, 1926.

10.     Anđa (Juro) Ivanković, 1936.

11.  Ilija (Ante) Ivanković, 1936.,

12.  Smiljko (Mirko) Krešo, 1940.

13.  Ivica (Jure) Krešo, 1935.

14.  Veljko (Andrija) Krešo, 1934.

15.  Stipe Mandić, 1923.

16.  Branko (Andrija) Mlikota, 1925.

17.  Nedjeljko (Marko) Krešo, 1953.

18.  Pero (Smiljko) Krešo, 1961.

19.  Stipo (Pero) Ljubić, 1961.

20.  Milenko (Stipe) Mandić, 1961.

21.  Željko (Slavko) Blažević, 1965.

22.  Ivan (Andrija) Drljo, 1971.

23.  i Zdravko (Ivan) Drljo, 1962.

Blackmailed and killed

Dragica Tomić is one of the few who lives permanently in this area with her sister and old father.

That April morning, she was at her house from where she heard screams and cries for hours.

"I could hear all those terrible screams from my house. Even today I am traumatized by that, and I can imagine what it is like for those who have seen their family members killed. Civilians were in their houses, and soldiers were in positions. They captured their families and then blackmailed them into surrendering. They caught these from houses and put some in the lower part of the village, others in the upper part, and then they blackmailed the soldiers with their children and women and mistreated them. They had to surrender. And they surrendered and gave their weapons, and then later they were killed in front of their families", Tomić describes the knowledge about this crime.

As in other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, they lived together for years, went to school and worked together. It is hard to imagine that such a thing could happen between neighbours. No one even thought of leaving these parts because they were not afraid of their neighbours.

"Unfortunately, the houses in Trusina are still demolished, overgrown so that they are almost invisible from the trees. People come for the anniversary and sometimes at other times, but there are no permanent Croat residents in Trusina", said Dragica.

Judgments and avoidance of judgment

For the crimes in Trusina, the deputy commander of the unit Zulfikar, Nihad Bojadžić was sentenced to 15 years in prison, and the members of that unit: Edin Džeko, Nedžad Hodžić and Mensur Memić to 13, 12 and ten years. After admitting her guilt, Rasema Handanović was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.

Dževad Salčin and Senad Hakalović were legally released from responsibility for the crimes.

Zulfikar Ališpaga was also tried for the same misdeed, but allegedly due to his health, the trial was interrupted. He is accused of having, as the commander of the Zulfikar special unit, failed to take measures to punish his subordinate soldiers who killed civilians and captured members of the HVO in the village of Trusina. He pleaded guilty, long ago, in 2010, and since then several hearings have been held, with a pause of several years each. Despite the expert's findings that he is capable of following the trials, Ališpaga's defense persistently demanded new expert reports. And while he avoided coming to trials due to his "poor state of health", Ališpago was arrested in 2019 for attacking police officers, which angered the court at the time. However, despite this, the trial was never continued.

Searching for justice, forgiveness and the bones of the murdered

Next to the memorial to the victims in Trusina, there are the remains of the house of the Krešo family, in front of which is a monument to Smiljko, whom Tomić says was killed in front of his family.

"His bones were never found, nor was he buried. It is assumed that he was set on fire in the house and there are no remains of him, but there is still silence about that, it is not known definitively", Dragica testified.

From there, the still open question arises: how to proceed. The Christian answer is: always trust in God's providence, which will point to another person who needs a hand of forgiveness. But every forgiveness requires sincere repentance.

At the same time, earthly justice must be served. "We all want responsibility for every crime. It is up to us to seek justice for everyone. As believers we must forgive. Each commemoration of this and other anniversaries should be a time and place when all victims are honoured. Every mother cries the same, regardless of her religion and nation", said Dragica Tomić.

And the date of that crime in Trusina coincides with the crime in Ahmići, where Croatian forces committed a massacre of Bosniaks. There was often speculation about some international espionage influence or some political agreement. However, a victim is a victim regardless of whose influence or direct activities it was created.

"It has been 30 years since the crime in Trusina, since the crime in Ahmići, and my message, the message of all people of goodwill, is that such a crime should never happen anywhere and never again. Anywhere in the world", said Dragica at the end.