Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, currently on a two-day working visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, on Sunday laid a wreath and lit candles outside the Serb Orthodox church in the village of Sijekovac, near the northern town of Bosanski Brod, in memory of Serb civilian victims killed by Croat and Bosniak (Muslim) forces on 26 March 1992.
Wreaths were also laid by the President and Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, Rajko Kuzmanovic and Milorad Dodik, and the head of the predominantly Bosniak Party of Democratic Action (SDA), Sulejman Tihic.
"We have come to pay respects to the victims and to extend our sympathy to their families. It is particularly important that today people of all religions and ethnicities have gathered here, which shows humanity, dignity and respect to victims," said Josipovic, whose arrival in front of the monument was greeted with applause by the villagers.
Rajko Kuzmanovic described Josipovic's visit as a very important act for peace in the region.
"All victims deserve respect and reverence," he said, adding that by this act they recognised the real situation in Bosnia and in the Serb entity, notably that Republika Srpska is a reality and that it is a part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was established by the Dayton Peace Agreement and which aspires to join European integration processes.
Representatives of former Serb prisoners of war welcomed the Croatian president to Sijekovac as an act of recognition that the crime in Sijekovac was committed by Croat and Muslim regular and paramilitary units.
Describing Josipovic's visit as very positive, one of the representatives said that Josipovic's visit would have a positive impact on confidence-building efforts in the region. He said more than 50 Serbs had been killed during the Croat and Muslim occupation of the village in March 1992.
