Commemoration held marking the 32nd anniversary of the Borovo Selo Massacre

A commemoration was held in Borovo Selo near Vukovar on Tuesday to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Borovo Selo Massacre, when twelve members of the Croatian Special Police were murdered by Serb forces.

On May 2nd 1991 Serb paramilitary forces ambushed a Croatian Special police unit on its way to Borovo Selo. During the ambush 12 members of the unit were killed, while another 23 were wounded in the attack. The police were on their way to Borovo to free two captured colleagues, when they were ambushed by the Serb paramilitary unit. After the attack, the police killed at Borovo Selo were found to have been mutilated, with their ears cut off, their eyes gouged out and their throats slit, among other grotesqueries.

One of the survivors of the Borovo Selo Massacre, Matija Mičić, was on hand for today’s commemoration: "We didn't even expect there to be any shooting. We figured there would be a protest in the center and we would be there as security and nothing more. However, when we arrived in the village they shot at our vehicles from all sides, and we all tried to save ourselves as best as we knew how."

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Davor Božinović was also at the commemoration, where he noted that the massacre extinguished any hopes Croatia had of a peaceful exit from Yugoslavia: "People are aware that this tragedy marked a turning point, and not just in eastern Slavonia. After this ambush and the brutal murders of these Croatian policemen, it became clear that war was unavoidable and that it will be very bloody."

In the aftermath of the Homeland War a former Serb paramilitary was convicted of war crimes for his role in abusing the two captured policemen, and ultimately sentenced to three years in prison. Four others were indicted, but remain at large beyond the reach of the Croatian judiciary. Ultimately, no one has been held to account for the massacre and ensuing atrocities.

Source: HRT