Sarajevo Plans Memorial Room for Children Killed in War

Sarajevo's Centar municipality on Friday signed a lease to provide premises to the Association of Parents of Children Killed in Besieged Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 to establish a memorial room for children killed during the siege of Sarajevo.

The head of the association, Fikret Grabovica, said that he wanted a space close to the nearby memorial monument to children killed in the war so visitors could get an insight into the scale of the crimes against children in one place.

"This memorial room will be a special project of historical importance, cherishing the memory of the children who were killed and telling the truth about the vents of the past war, and will also have an educational purpose as future generations will be able to find out more about the siege of the city," Grabovica said.

"I hope that other levels of authority will become involved and provide financial support for the implementation of the project," he added.

The mayor of the Centar municipality, Nedzad Ajnadzic, said that the memorial room would be a place to remind and warn people about war.

"We must not forget the suffering of our citizens, particularly children," Ajnadzic said.

He recalled that during the 1,425-day siege, around 12,000 residents of Sarajevo citizens and over 1,500 children were killed.

"We must convey these facts to younger generations so history will not repeat itself," he said.

Sarajevo already has a War Childhood Museum, which has a collection of more than 3,000 personal items owned by children who lived through the 1992-95 conflict.