Day of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Camp Detainees Marked in Jajce

(Patria) - The Association of Camp Detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Association of Camp Detainees of Jajce, marked the Day of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Camp Detainees with a commemorative program. The program began with a ceremonial academy in the Great Hall of the Municipality of Jajce, and continued with the screening of the documentary film by the Association of Camp Detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Invisible Scars".

Camp detainees are the most numerous and the only category emerging from the 1992-1995 war that, even 24 years after the end of the war, does not have a resolved legal status, whose existence is completely ignored by the authorities, and whose rights are grossly violated on a daily basis. The Day of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Camp Detainees, May 9th, is an opportunity and a duty to remember all murdered and missing camp detainees in camps across Bosnia and Herzegovina and to pay due tribute to camp detainees who passed away after their release from camps.

It is undeniable that camp detainees are a population that is rapidly biologically disappearing, and indicators show that 48% of camp detainees who were released alive from camps have biologically disappeared – died – by today. The truth about crimes, torture, aggression, and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina is largely based on the testimonies of surviving victims of concentration camps, which some are trying to ignore and diminish their suffering, and to say that there were no camps or camp detainees at all during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992-1995.

"At a time when the civilized world marks Victory Day over Fascism and Europe Day, camp detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still victims of torture which, although nicely packaged, is still devastating for them, given that, in addition to gross neglect by the authorities, they are forced to pay court and legal representation costs in cases where, due to the lack of an adequate legal solution, they have tried to exercise their rights that were violated by unjustified deprivation of liberty and the torture they endured in the camps.

The Association of Camp Detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue to fight and seek a model and way to regulate the status rights of camp detainees. We will make our maximum contribution to strengthening the culture of remembrance, we will fight against oblivion and injustice, and through competent institutions, we will seek the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes committed against camp detainees," stated the Association of Camp Detainees of BiH.