“Concrete Support for Families of 1990s Civil War Victims After Over 30 Years”
After more than thirty years of waiting, addressing the past: €100,000 in support for the families of victims of refugee deportations, the tragic events in Štrpci, and the bombings in Murino and Tuzi.
For the first time in over thirty years, the families of civilian victims from the wars of the 1990s will finally receive tangible assistance from the government.
The Government will allocate €100,000 in support to the families affected by the tragic incidents in Štrpci, the bombings in Murino and Tuzi, and the deportation of refugees—€50,000 this year and another €50,000 next year.
For decades, the state neglected to safeguard the fundamental human rights of its citizens concerning these events. It wasn’t until the 44th Government that the necessity of confronting the past, acknowledging the state’s failings, accepting responsibility, promoting human solidarity, and rebuilding trust in state institutions was recognized.
The loss of loved ones is irreplaceable, yet the memory of those who were abducted and killed—travellers on the train at Štrpci station on February 28, 1993—is now honored: Esad Kapetanović, Iljaz Ličina, Fehim Bakija, Šećo Softić, Rifat Husović, Senad Đečević, Jusuf Rastoder, and Ismet Babačić.
As Prime Minister Spajić assured a year ago, the state remembers the victims of the Murino bridge bombing on April 30, 1999—Miroslav Knežević, Olivera Maksimović, Julija Brudar, Vukić Vuletić, Milka Kočanović, and Manojlo Komatina—as well as Paška Junčaj, who lost her life during the bombing in Tuzi that same year. Support will also extend to the family of Osman Bajrović, a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina deported to Montenegro in 1992, whose remains remain missing.
The Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, is carrying out this compensation based on the Information adopted by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care, and Demography, headed by Damir Gutić, and the initiative set in motion by Deputy Prime Minister Milun Zogović, following amendments made to the Law on Veterans’ and Disability Protection by the Parliament of Montenegro on February 28, 2025.
Recognizing the suffering of the families of civilian victims from the wars of the 1990s, ensuring institutional support, acknowledging past shortcomings, and rectifying injustices is a duty of a society dedicated to the rule of law and the principles of a civic state.