Belgrade Honours Victims of 1990s Conflicts

Plan of a future look of a memorial park in Belgrade. | Photo courtesy of Beoinfo

The monument, dedicated to the innocent victims of the wars of the former Yugoslavia, is scheduled for completion before the 13th anniversary of the start of NATO's bombing campaign on March 24th.

 "It should serve as a memorial to all innocent victims of all the wars that took place in the region in the '90s and, in this regard, the use of the date when the bombing started is symbolic," said mayor’s assistant Aleksandar Sapic.

The city administration told BIRN that the memorial will dominate the square near the Serbian government building and face the train and bus station.

The process of building the monument will include reconstructing two squares that cover 2,700 square metres.

 "The space is designed as a nearly flat pedestrian plateau, dominated by a linear fountain with a memorial to the victims of war," the administration stated in a letter to BIRN.

The memorial will consist of two layers of glass two metres wide and nearly three metres high, which intersect the flow of the fountain. An inscription will be carved into the glass with a laser.

The initial decision to build a monument dedicated to the “Victims of war and homeland defenders from 1990-1999” was made in 2005 by the Belgrade City Assembly.

The initiative came from the Association of War Victims during the mandate of the previous mayor, the late Nenad Bogdanovic.

Sapic explained that the City organised a public competition for the monument and that it will cost 62.5 million dinars (€625,000).

Mihailo Timotijevic, a professor at the University of Belgrade’s architecture department, is the project manager.