White Ribbon Day

White Ribbon Day (Bosnian: Dan bijelih traka) is an annual commemoration held on 31 May to remember the massacres carried out in 1992 by Serb forces against non-Serb civilians in the town of Prijedor and its surroundings in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the start of the Bosnian War, Serb forces seized the town of Prijedor in April 1992. On 31 May 1992, local Serb authorities issued a decree through local radio broadcasts, requiring all non-Serb citizens to display white flags or sheets on their windows and to wear white ribbons or armbands on their arms whenever leaving their homes.^【1】 This order became one of the modern examples in Europe of forced classification and discrimination targeting an ethnic or religious group, occurring approximately 50 years after Nazi Germany’s decree compelling Jews to wear the yellow Star of David.

^{White Ribbon Day commemoration in Prijedor (}Anadolu Agency⁾

Thousands of non-Serb civilians identified by the white ribbon requirement were taken to detention camps such as Omarska, Keraterm, Trnopolje, and Manjača. In these camps and during attacks around Prijedor, civilians were subjected to systematic torture, executions, and massacres. Records show that a total of 3,176 people were killed in the Prijedor municipality during the war, including 102 children. Approximately 30,000 to 31,000 civilians were held in detention camps, and tens of thousands were expelled from their homes. In 2013, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) uncovered the Tomasica mine, one of the largest mass graves in Prijedor, containing the remains of more than 600 individuals killed during the war.^【2】

^{At a ceremony in Sarajevo, photographs of war criminals Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić were displayed alongside the names and images of children killed during the war (}Anadolu Agency⁾

Since 2012, 31 May has been observed as White Ribbon Day to ensure that the tragedy and human rights violations in Prijedor are not forgotten. On this day, individuals tie white ribbons around their arms to draw attention to the dangers of discrimination and hate crimes, to honor the victims, and to express solidarity with those affected in Prijedor. Events are held in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Türkiye, and many other countries.

^{White Ribbon Day commemoration demonstration (}Anadolu Agency⁾

Despite these commemorative efforts, the local Serb administration in Prijedor has for years blocked the construction of memorials for the victims of the Omarska detention camp and the 102 children killed during the war. This obstruction is viewed by victims’ families and activists as a major barrier to justice and remembrance. Local authorities have also taken steps such as banning commemorative programs in public spaces and prohibiting the use of the term “genocide.”^【3】

These bans and restrictions on commemorative ceremonies have been characterized as political pressure against victims’ families and have drawn international criticism. Despite these obstacles, White Ribbon Day commemorations continue as part of the ongoing struggle to remember the massacres in Prijedor and to ensure public awareness of the truth.