UDIK

UDIK, the Association for Social Research and Communications ( Bosnian: ''Udruženje za društvena istraživanja i komunikacije''/ Удружење за друштвена истраживања и комуникације), is a Bosnian non-governmental organization with offices in Sarajevo and Brčko. It was founded in 2013 by Edvin Kanka Ćudić. The organization aimed to gather facts, documents, and data on genocide, war crimes, and human rights violations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Yugoslavia.

Human rights activities

UDIK was founded in 2013 by
Edvin Kanka Ćudić. It aimed to gather facts, documents, and data on genocide, war crimes, and human rights violations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Yugoslavia. UDIK works across national boundaries to assist post-conflict societies within the region reestablish the rule of law and deal with past human rights abuses. UDIK also implements a victim-oriented transitional justice programme with three principal components:
* Documenting
* Justice and institutional reform
* Memorialization

UDIK was made up of independent members, intellectuals and professionals from different academic disciplines.

Other activities

Since its inception, UDIK supports the women's and LGBT rights. Ćudić in several interviews said that the LGBT community, with the Romani people, is the most vulnerable community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. When the Bosnia and Herzegovina's first LGBT Pride Parade was announced in 2019, UDIK immediately supported the parade.

Researches

Publications about war crimes

Every year UDIK publishes documents about war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. UDIK has published extensively on subjects such as war crimes, massacres and human rights violations from 1992 to 1995 in Foča, Višegrad, Sarajevo's Grbavica, Trusina, Sarajevo's Kazani, Sanski Most, Bugojno, Grabovica, Sijekovac, Vlasenica, Zaklopača, Biljani, Čajniče etc. On the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, UDIK published a book with the names of the buried victims of genocide from 2003 to 2019.

UDIK's publications about war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina are available at the Library of Congress in United States.

Central register of memorials

In December 2015, UDIK team began to research and compile a register of memorials for victims of the Yugoslav wars (1991-2001) including Albanians, Bosniaks, Croats, Montenegrins, Serbs and Others who were killed or disappeared during the armed conflicts in Yugoslavia (1991–2001) with the aim of creating the Central register of memorials on the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) that would serve to curb attempts at historical revisionism and manipulative use of the numbers of victims.

The register is based on analysis of documents from municipalities, cities, museums, tourist organizations, Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian Orthodox Church, ministries of veterans including newspaper reports from the period, internet, publications, associations of veterans and families of the dead, etc.

In 2016, UDIK published the first results of the Central register of memorials for Bosnia and Herzegovina, listing more than 2.100 memorials to the victims of Bosnian War. Next year, UDIK also published register about more than 1.200 memorials built in Croatia dedicated to the victims of Homeland War. In 2018 UDIK published register about more than 300 memorials build in Serbia (without Kosovo) and Montenegro dedicated to the victims of Serbia and Montenegro in Yugoslav wars. The registry also included memorials dedicated to the victims of NATO bombing of Serbia and Montenegro.

The Central register of memorials of the Yugoslav wars is still the only register of memorials to victims of the Yugoslav wars on the territory of the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Controversial memorials

Since 2017, UDIK has been conducting studies on controversial memorials that were built after 1991 in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and which glorify
fascism and hatred among the people of the former Yugoslavia. There are currently publications on controversial monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia (without Kosovo). Analysis included monuments dedicated to
Draža Mihailović, Alojzije Stepinac and Josip Broz Tito.

Advocacy

Since 2013, UDIK has organized a large number of commemorations for the victims of past war in the former Yugoslavia (1991-2001). UDIK calls this commemorations the Living monument. The ceremonies were organized in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo, Tuzla, Brčko, Zenica, Višegrad, Foča), Croatia (Zagreb, Vukovar) and Serbia (Belgrade, Prijepolje). Thanks to this initiative, for the first time, many commemorations were organized. These commemorations were related to crimes against civilian victims of Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats.

Kazani (Sarajevo)

Since 2014, UDIK has advocated
the construction of a monument to the victims killed at Sarajevo's Kazani. UDIK started this campaign as the first non-governmental organization which commemorated victims of this war crime. Commemorations were organised in front of the Sarajevo's Cathedral. Since 2017, UDIK has been demanding that the City of Sarajevo build a monument to the victims of this crime in the Kazani and in the center of Sarajevo. This is justified by the fact that Kazani is far from the Sarajevo, and that citizens need monument in the city for dealing with the past. In 2020, this UDIK's initiative was accepted by other Bosnian and international organizations. A year later, same initiative was also accepted by intellectuals and representatives of the victims of this war crime. However, the initiative was rejected by the mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karić. That is why the City Council started the construction of the monument in location of Kazani, without consultations for the initiators and victims. In September 2021 City Council of Sarajevo made a monument proposal. On that proposal UDIK requested that name of perpetrator of the war crimes be written on the monument, and that the number of the mentioned victims on the monument is not final. The mayor refusef that request.

Kazani monument was opened in November 2021 by the Benjamina Karić. None of the victims' representatives was present at the opening of the monument.

St. Joseph Cemetery (Sarajevo)

From April 2022, UDIK is advocating for the installation of a memorial plaque at the St. Joseph Cemetery in Sarajevo. The memorial plaque should be at the place of re-exhumation of Serbian victims killed in Kazani, Gaj and Grm Maline. Initially, UDIK referred the initiative to the institution that deals with the maintenance of cemeteries, but later the initiative came in Sarajevo City Council. It was rejected in 2023 and then in 2024.

Storm and Ahmići (Zagreb)

UDIK with Center for Women War Victims (ROSA) from Zagreb, in 2014 started the campaign "The crimes in the Operation Storm are the responsibility of all of us" in order to commemorate Serbs victims of the crimes in Operation Storm in Croatia. In May 2015, the Federal Ministry of Interior of the Bosnia and Herzegovina banned the commemoration in Sarajevo. In May 2016, the same commemoration was banned by the MUP of the Republic of Croatia, but in the end it was held in Zagreb with increased police security.

In early 2021, UDIK initiated a coalition with the ROSA Center to commemorate the massacre in Ahmići. The first activity was held on the anniversary of the war crime of the same year in the capital of Croatia. The following year, the network was expanded with several more Croatian NGOs. On 4 April 2023, seven organizations submitted a request to the City of Zagreb to name the square after the victims of the Ahmići massacre.

Zanatski Center (Brčko)

In May 2023, UDIK launched an initiative to mark the place of the murder of Hajrudin Muzurović and Husein Kršo in Brčko. In May 1992 civilians were executed by Goran Jelisić in the city center. The execution was photographed. UDIK submitted the request for the memorial plaque to the Assembly of the Brčko District. However, the request was ignored by the authorities.

In March 2024, UDIK again sent an initiative for a memorial plaque to the mayor of Brčko, the president of the Assembly and the Assembly of the Brčko District. Initiative was again ignored. On May 7, 2024, UDIK with the members of Muzurović and Kršo families laid flowers at the place of the murder. It was the first commemoration held in street of Zanatski center in Brčko which Goran Jelisić used as an execution ground.

Bibliography

Publications published by UDIK:

In Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian

* ''Ratni zločini u Brčkom ('92-'95): presude'' (Sarajevo, 2016)
* ''In memoriam Centar Sarajevo (1992-1995)'' (Sarajevo, 2016)
* ''Ratni zločin na Kazanima: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2016, 2020)
* ''In memoriam Bosna i Hercegovina (1992-1995)'', vol. 1 (Sarajevo, 2016)
* ''Ratni zločin u Trusini: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''Ratni zločini u Višegradu: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''Ratni zločini u Foči: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''In memoriam Republika Hrvatska (1991-1995)'', vol. 1 (Brčko-Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''Građanska memorijalizacija u Bosni i Hercegovini i Republici Hrvatskoj'' (Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''Od Jugoslavije do Dejtona - Spomenici i kultura sjećanja kroz uticaj društveno-političkih sistema: Priručnik za predavače historije/istorije/povijesti'' (Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''Ratni zločini na Grbavici: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''Ratni zločini u Sanskom Mostu: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''In memoriam Crna Gora i Republika Srbija'', vol. 1 (Brčko-Sarajevo, 2018)
* ''Spomenici i politike sjećanja u Bosni i Hercegovini i Republici Hrvatskoj: kontroverze'' (Sarajevo, 2018)
* ''Putevima sjećanja: fotografski prikazi memorijalizacije u Bosni i Hercegovini (Sarajevo, 2019)
* ''Ratni zločin u Grabovici: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2019)
* ''Ratni zločin u Sijekovcu, predmet: Zemir Kovačević'' (Sarajevo, 2019)
* ''Ratni zločini u Milićima i Vlasenici: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2019)
* ''Nestali, sjećanja i mediji u postdejtonskoj Bosni i Hercegovini i regionu'' (Sarajevo, 2020)
* ''Ratni zločin u Biljanima, predmet: Marko Samardžija'' (Sarajevo, 2020)
* ''Izvještaj Vlade Republike Srpske o događajima u i oko Srebrenice od 10. do 19. jula 1995.'' (Sarajevo, 2020)
* ''Srebrenica: 25 godina sjećanje na žrtve genocida'' (Sarajevo, 2020)
* ''Ratni zločini u Čajniču: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2020)
* ''Sarajevo: sjećanje na žrtve holokausta'' (Sarajevo, 2021)
* ''Ratni zločini u Bugojnu: presude'' (Sarajevo, 2021)
* ''Ratni zločini u Bugojnu, predmet: Nisvet Gasal i drugi, vol. 1-2'' (Sarajevo, 2022)
* ''Kultura sjećanja i strategije reprezentacije ratne prošlosti devedesetih u Bosni i Hercegovini, Hrvatskoj i Srbiji'' (Sarajevo, 2022)
* ''Spomenici i politike sjećanja u Srbiji i Crnoj Gori: kontroverze'' (Sarajevo, 2022)
* ''Selektivna memorijalizacija u Bosni i Hercegovini: pokušaji etnonacionalističkih politika da prekrajaju historiju i diktiraju politiku sjećanja i identiteta kroz spomenike i memorijalne komplekse'' (Sarajevo, 2023) − Dino Jozić
* ''Ratni zločin u kasarni "Viktor Bubanj" u Sarajevu, predmet: Ramiz Avdović i drugi'' (Sarajevo, 2023)
* ''Medijsko izvještavanje o ratnim dešavanjima devedesetih na primjerima Srebrenice i Vukovara'' (Sarajevo, 2024)
* ''Ratni zločini u Doboju: presude, vol. 1'' (Sarajevo, 2024)

Translations into English

* ''In Memoriam Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995)'', vol. 1 (Sarajevo, 2016)
* ''In Memoriam Republic of Croatia (1991-1995)'', vol. 1 (Brčko-Sarajevo, 2017)
* ''In Memoriam Montenegro and Republic of Serbia'', vol. 1 (Brčko-Sarajevo, 2018)
* ''Monuments and the politics of memory in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia: controversies'' (Sarajevo, 2018)
* ''Selective Memorialization in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Attempts of ethno-nationalist policies to rewrite history and dictate the politics of memory and identity through monuments and memorials'' (Sarajevo, 2023) − Dino Jozić

Allegations of bias

The criticism generally falls into the category of alleged bias, often in response to UDIK's activities. Bias allegations include the organization's insistence on war crimes on Serbs or Croats which were committed by the Bosnian Army. Bosniak right-wing media in Bosnia and Herzegovina think that certain crimes against Serbs or Croats which were committed by the Bosnian Army were legitimate military targets against the aggressor while UDIK believes that Bosniaks must take responsibility for the killings of civilians in those crimes.

References

External links

*
*
Organisation Data
TACSO
*
Organisation Data
Insight on Conflict
*
Organisation Data
Ana Lindh Foundation
*
Organisation Data
Transconflict

{{authority control

Human rights organizations based in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Organizations established in 2013
Transitional justice
Yugoslav Wars