Anniversary of the formation of the infamous 'Trnopolje' camp: 'The hardest part was seeing the fear of adults'

(Patria) - 34 years have been marked since the formation of the infamous Trnopolje camp near Prijedor.

It is one of the first concentration camps formed in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosniak and Croat prisoners, mostly civilians, were held.

Camp survivors and their family members gathered to lay flowers and pay tribute to the numerous murdered camp inmates, and the official number of those killed in this camp has never been determined.

Denisa Hasić from the Prijedor settlement of Bišćani was only eight years old when she was brought to the Trnopolje camp, writes Federalna televizija.

She was already an orphan, as her father, mother, and several close family members were killed in an attack on the village. She still remembers the events from the camp.

- It was for an eight-year-old girl - there were many people lying on the floor, we hadn't even reached the hall yet. They were shouting, forcing us to hurry.

As a child, when I entered, I only remember the ground, which was very uneven. The hardest part was seeing the fear of adults - said Hasić.

She points out that this is the first time since then that she has visited the site of the Trnopolje camp, through which, according to the estimates of the Association of Camp Inmates, about 23,000 people passed.

One of them is Fikret Alić, whose photograph, standing behind barbed wire, became globally known after a report was published in "Time" magazine.

- I don't like to be reminded of evil moments. I published a book so people could read it. What we, the camp inmates, experienced - those people were monsters. Today, I sometimes meet those people who have been convicted of war crimes - says Alić.

The number of those killed in the Trnopolje camp has never been officially determined. The International Court of Justice determined that there were at least 20 victims, and camp inmates estimate that hundreds died, mostly civilians.

- It is known as one of the most massive, classic concentration camps, considering that 23,000 camp inmates passed through this camp.

There is still a lot of truth that has not been told in the right way - stated the president of the Association of Camp Inmates of BiH, Seid Omerović.

The president of the Association of Camp Inmates Prijedor '92, Mirsad Duratović, said that it is up to people today whether the camp will be forgotten.

- It is up to us whether we will allow their lies to defeat our truth. It is up to us whether we will allow the blood that was shed here to go unpunished and be forgotten - said Duratović.

Foreign guests also attended the commemoration program, who are participating in the three-day international conference "With Heart to Peace", which is being held in Kozarac, after which a visit to the site where the Omarska camp was formed was organized.

For the crimes in Trnopolje, the International Court of Justice sentenced four people: Milomir Stakić to 40, Radoslav Brđanin to 32, Zoran Žigić to 25, and Duško Tadić to 20 years in prison.