Banja Luka Mourns Wartime Baby Deaths

Zeljka Tubic, one of the mothers whose baby died in May 1992, demanded that the authorities in Bosnia’s Serb-led entity Republika Srpska establish who was responsible for the deaths of the babies and bring them to justice.

“The whole world knows what happened but everyone keeps quiet. Our sorrow is so much greater because our own authorities did not file a [law] suit. New generations must not forget this day. Such a crime must be recorded in history,” said Tubic.

Doctor Milos Bajic, who as head of the clinical centre in Banja Luka witnessed the births and deaths of the babies between May 22 and June 19, 1992, said they died in the intensive care unit because of a lack of oxygen, which could not be brought in from Belgrade due to a UN Security Council wartime ban on flights over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“It was horrible watching that. The oxygen was ready but unavailable. One life after another petered out. Of 12 babies, only two had names,” said Bajic.

Republika Srpska’s President Milorad Dodik said that it was very difficult to establish who was responsible, but blamed the UN Security Council for refusing to investigate further.

“We must be aware of that, but we also must bring everyone to this place and show them what happened,” said Dodik.

As well as Dodik and the mothers of the babies that died, flowers were laid at the memorial on Wednesday by Republika Srpska’s Prime Minister Zeljko Cvijanovic and organisations representing the families of soldiers killed during the war and civilians who went missing.