Confronting the past is not merely an act of remembrance, but the foundation for building trust and a more just society, and visiting places of memory helps foster understanding and empathy, which is why the second module of the Transitional Justice School of the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) included visits to locations connected to war crimes in the cases of “Bukovica”, “Kaluđerski laz”, “Murino”, “The Klapuh Family” and “Štrpci”.
Participants of the programme, over two days, on 7 and 8 November, had the opportunity to talk with the families of victims and activists. On the first day, they visited Murino, where, at the monument to the victims of the NATO bombing, they met with Ivan Vuletić from the Association of NATO Victims Murino. At the site of the crime in Kaluđerski laz, professor and activist Haxhi Lajçi spoke to them, while at the monument to the victims of the crime in Štrpci, they met Demir Ličina, representative of the NGO Štrpci Against Oblivion. On the second day, participants visited the Husein Pasha Mosque in Pljevlja and and discussed the Bukovica crime with political scientist and activist Emir Pilav, while at the bridge of Obrad Cicmil in Plužine, representatives of the CCE team spoke about the murder of the Klapuh family.
The earlier part of the study visit included a tour of the Security Centre in Herceg Novi and the former camp “Morinj”.
“It is well known to the public that, even after so many years, no court decision has been made to determine who the perpetrators of the crime against Albanian civilians in Kaluđerski laz were, who sought refuge in the Rožaje area in the spring of 1999. I do not know the reason for the silence of the institutions, but it is obvious that there is no genuine determination in Montenegro to shed light on this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said Haxhi Lajçi. He added that he is also discouraged by the fact that in recent years, individuals and events marked by crimes that Montenegro should be ashamed of have been affirmed in the public sphere. “That is why I believe that erecting a memorial to the victims would be more than a symbolic act and a clear signal that not everything is lost, that truth does not die and that there is readiness to face our inglorious past,” stated Lajçi.
Demir Ličina, whose father was killed in the Štrpci crime, said that the memorial in Bijelo Polje represents a place where he can come, sit in peace, and remember his father. “There I feel calm and connected to his memory,” said Ličina, adding that other family members also have a place to remember their loved ones. “The memorial means a lot to me because it bears the names of those who were killed only because of their names – that was their only ‘crime’,” he emphasised. According to him, those names are important not only for the families of the victims but also for Montenegro and the countries of the region. “It is the testimony of a time and a reminder of things that should never happen again. It is important that young people visit the memorial and understand that those were innocent people who perished, so that such tragedies never happen again,” he concluded.
Nejla Javorovac, a student of Humanistic Studies and a programme participant, emphasised the importance of the study visit in connecting theoretical learning with the personal experience of places of memory of the events from the 1990s. “During the first part of the programme, we listened to important lectures. That enabled us to better understand the complexity of the process of facing the past. Visits to places of suffering and memory, as well as meetings with people who preserve the memories of those events, left a strong impression and reminded us how important it is to talk about the past responsibly and empathetically, because such an approach can be an important lesson for a fairer future,” said Javorovac.
Mihana Škretović, a student of the Faculty of Law of the University of Montenegro, assessed that the study visit of the Transitional Justice School was a unique opportunity for participants to talk with witnesses and members of the victims’ families. “Their testimonies provided us with a deeper insight into the consequences of war crimes and reminded us of the importance of preserving memory. This module was extremely significant because through the authentic stories of family members we strengthened the awareness of the need to face the past and spread the culture of remembrance among young people,” noted Škretović.
The Transitional Justice School is part of the project “Through Understanding the Past to Building Trust and Transitional Justice”, implemented within the regional programme “EU Support to Confidence-Building in the Western Balkans”, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Maja Marinović, Programme Associate