Sarajevo commemorates pacifist Gabriele Moreno Locatelli

A commemoration was held in Sarajevo to honor Gabriele Moreno Locatelli, an Italian volunteer from Canzo who was killed by a sniper on October 3, 1993, during the siege of the city. Locatelli was a member of the ‘Beati i Costruttori di Pace’ (Blessed Builders of Peace) and was engaged in nonviolent peace efforts when he was killed on the Vrbanja Bridge.

Eugenio Zoffili, Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, attended the ceremony at the invitation of the Italian Embassy. Zoffili represented the Italian Parliament and international organizations, emphasizing that Locatelli’s message of peace through dialogue and cooperation remains relevant today.

In conjunction with the commemoration, a historical research project has been launched to gather documents, testimonies, and recordings to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the events surrounding the October 3 action. The research aims to move beyond the simplified narrative of the group simply laying flowers, instead exploring the broader context of the volunteers' activities, their nonviolent interposition strategies, and the political and religious messages they sought to convey during the conflict.