Krvavac: After more than three decades, families of civilian victims of the 1990s wars will receive concrete state support

After three decades of waiting, confronting the past: €100,000 in assistance for the families of victims of the refugee deportations, the tragic events in Štrpci, and the bombings in Murino and Tuzi.

For the first time in over three decades, the families of civilian victims of the 1990s wars will receive concrete support from the state.

The Government will provide assistance to the families of the victims of the tragic events in Štrpci, the bombings in Murino and Tuzi, and the deportation of refugees, amounting to €100,000 per family — €50,000 this year and €50,000 next year.

For decades, the state had failed to protect the basic human rights of its citizens in connection to these events, and it was not until the 44th Government that the importance of confronting the past, acknowledging the state's omissions, assuming responsibility, fostering human solidarity, and restoring trust in state institutions was recognized.

The loss of loved ones is irreparable, but the memory of those abducted and murdered — passengers on the train at Štrpci station on 28 February 1993 — is now honored symbolically: Esad Kapetanović, Iljaz Ličina, Fehim Bakija, Šećo Softić, Rifat Husović, Senad Đečević, Jusuf Rastoder, and Ismet Babačić.

As Prime Minister Spajić promised a year ago, the state has not forgotten the victims of the bombing of the bridge in Murino on 30 April 1999 — Miroslav Knežević, Olivera Maksimović, Julija Brudar, Vukić Vuletić, Milka Kočanović, and Manojlo Komatina — as well as Paška Junčaj, who lost her life that same year during the bombing in Tuzi. Support will also be provided to the family of Osman Bajrović, a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina who was deported to Montenegro in 1992 and whose remains have yet to be found.

The Government, led by Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, is implementing the compensation following the adoption of the Information by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography, headed by Damir Gutić, and the initiative launched by Deputy Prime Minister Milun Zogović, after the Parliament of Montenegro amended the Law on Veterans' and Disability Protection on 28 February 2025.

Acknowledging the suffering of the families of civilian victims of the 1990s wars, ensuring institutional protection, recognizing past failures, and correcting injustices is the duty of a society committed to the rule of law and the values of a civic state.