The Day of White Ribbons is a day of remembrance for the events that began on May 31, 1992 in the area of the municipality of Prijedor.
On that day, the violently installed government and its Crisis Staff issued an order for all non-Serbs to display white sheets on their homes, while non-Serbs, mainly Bosniaks and Croats , were required to wear white armbands in public places. This was the prelude to the ethnic cleansing of the non-Serb population and the genocide of Bosniaks in the Prijedor area.
The program began with the singing of the national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The attendees were addressed by Denis Hatić , President of BHCA Coventry and Anes Cerić , Executive Director of BH UK Network. They recalled the importance of this commemoration so that the innocent victims of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina would not be forgotten. Dr. Cerić also spoke about the importance of the recently adopted resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica. He took the opportunity to thank the Government of the United Kingdom for co-sponsoring the resolution and continuing support for our homeland.
This was followed by a presentation by BiH students of Coventry supplementary school. In a very emotional way, they reminded of the 102 murdered children . on this occasion, we would like to thank the teachers, students and parents for the work and effort they put in to make the school part of the program what we expected, excellent.
A documentary film about the atrocities to which prisoners were subjected in the camps in Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje was shown. Seobiha Forić read the poem Hava Majka Prijedočanka , and Lejla Medić read the tragic story of the Kozarac policeman, Emir Karabašić.
We would like to thank Bosnia UK Network for their support. We would also like to thank the teachers of the Coventry BiH supplementary school, Senadin Selimić, Arnela Pašić and Sanela Kablić , the students and parents for their work and effort to make the school part of the program what we expected, educational and emotional.
This year’s celebration was hosted by Benjamin Mulalić .
During the three and a half years of war in the Prijedor area, 3,176 people were killed . Tens of thousands of people passed through concentration camps, such as Omarska, Trnopolje and Keraterm, where they were subjected to mass executions, rape, various types of torture, and crimes against humanity. Also, 102 children under the age of 18 were killed in Prijedor.
