Bosnian Croat leader votes in Anadolu’s photo contest

By Vesna Besic and Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zeljko Komsic, took part in Anadolu’s international photo contest on Monday.

Komsic gave a thumbs-up to ''the farewell" photo taken by Samir Jordamovic in the News category.

In the photo, relatives of 30 genocide victims pray over their coffins in the village of Potocari ahead of their burial on the 28th anniversary of the genocide that took place in July 1995 in Bosnia Herzegovina.

Meanwhile, Komsic for the "Sports" category voted for "The Falling," where Swedish athlete Marcus Nilsson competes in the men’s high jump at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships at Atakoy Arena in Istanbul.

For the ''Environment-Life'' category, he voted for Ercin Erturk's photograph "The power of love.”

Also, Aytug Can Sencar's photo "Holding on to life" in the "Earthquake: Hope" category, which was added specifically for this year, received a thumbs-up from Komsic.

Komsic also voted for Mustafa Hassona's "Unspeakable" photograph in the "Gaza: Evidence" category.

He said it was a great pain for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina who lived through the 90s war to watch parents whose children were killed in Gaza.

''I think there should be no dilemma when it comes to taking sides. We do not want to wipe out an entire nation from their homeland,'' he added.

According to Komsic, the West acted "hypocritically" in the face of what was done in Gaza.

"The genocide that took place in Srebrenica in 1995 during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina is now being carried out in Gaza. Bosnians, who were once wanted to be exterminated from their homeland, show the greatest solidarity with the Palestinians,'' he said.

Anadolu's photos and videos proving Israel's war crimes have been used as evidence in applications to the International Criminal Court by lawyers worldwide advocating for Palestinian rights.

Photos from the year that were captured by Anadolu's camera lenses and left their mark on 2023 are open for voting until Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. Turkish time (1400GMT) on the website yilinkareleri.aa.com.tr.

Two special categories have been added to the "Photos of the Year" this year, which has become a tradition and in which hundreds of thousands of people vote.

This year, photography lovers will participate in voting in two special categories: "Gaza: Evidence" and "Earthquake: Hope."

In this context, 25 photographs that were recorded in history as evidence about Israeli forces' attacks that constitute "war crimes" can be voted on in the category titled "Gaza: Evidence."

There are also 45 outstanding photographs in the main categories "Environment and Life," 30 in the "News" category and 25 in the "Sports" category.

Participants in the voting will be able to vote for as many photos as they want.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people vote, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ministers, politicians, bureaucrats, athletes, artists and people from all walks of life.