Bosnia: 3,176 white ribbons mark Prijedor massacre

Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday marked White Ribbons Day in honor of thousands of innocent civilians killed in the western town of Prijedor. On May 31, 1992, the Serbian administration in Prijedor issued an order to the non-Serb population to wear white stripes on their arms when they leave their houses, an order followed by extermination, murder, and persecution. Thousands of people in Prijedor, Banja Luka, Brcko, Tuzla, Sarajevo and other cities and towns wore white ribbons on their arms to mark the 27th anniversary of the massacre. In the capital Sarajevo, the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide handed out 3,176 white ribbons to people, signifying the number of victims who died during the tragedy. Jasmin Meskovic, one of the founders of the museum, told how the fate of the non-Serb civilians in Prijedor was "sealed" with white ribbons. ''The white ribbons were not hung up for the protection or support of non-Serb civilians. Those who designed this ruthless project could see a person with a ribbon as an enemy and kill them without any remorse or blinking," he said. A white sheet was also hung on the headquarters of the Islamic Union of Bosnia to draw attention to the massacre. Norwegian father and son Sollie and Christian Lars, visiting Sarajevo, drew a white ribbon on his arms in memory of the massacre. Sollie Lars, who was working for the UN during the Bosnian War, stressed that he wants his family to see Bosnia and Herzegovina in person. Also as part of the White Ribbon Day events, photos and toys symbolizing 102 children killed in Prijedor were exhibited in the Grand Park in Sarajevo. Among the 3,176 civilians killed in Prijedor there were 102 children and 258 women. Some 30,000 others suffered in concentration camps at Omarska, Keraterm, and Trnopolje on Prijedor’s outskirts. Most of the killings took in the period between May and August 1992.