Camp Prisoners Day Commemorated in Foca

Murat Tahirovic, president of the Bosnian Association of Camp Prisoners, stressed the importance of the May 9 commemorations.

“We want to commemorate the Camp Prisoners Day so as not to forget and repeat what happened in the 1990s, to point out that a great many people responsible for the camps and crimes are still at large, while, on the other hand, we have a substantial population of camp prisoners who have no rights.”

“The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is such that it maintains the heroic status of criminals and the poverty of the victims, and we are trying to change this and give victims more rights,” said Tahirovic.

The Association of Camp Prisoners of Bosnia and Herzegovina organised an event which commemorated May 9 in front of the Correctional Facility in Foca, which served as a prison camp for the non-Serb population during the war.

According to the Association’s data, the camp at Foca held 709 people captive between July 1992 and October 1994, 700 of whom were men, six were women and three children. Out of the total number of camp prisoners held at Foca, 322 were either murdered or disappeared.

Although the Camp Prisoners Day ceremony was attended by many politicians and representatives of the authorities, Tahirovic stressed that the former camp prisoners had only been given verbal support.

“In reality, we might not even have verbal support either, as there is only a political interest in manipulating this population. Around 90 per cent of those who survived the camps have no legal rights, and we are talking about hundreds of thousands of victims. However, we will resume fighting and trying to bring into being a law on camp prisoners,” said Tahirovic.

Tahirovic explained that former camp detainees want the Bosnian government to adopt a law which would enable them to get financial aid, as well as other benefits such as free social security, disability fees for those who have become disabled due to sufferings in camps and possibilities for employment.

The commemoration of the 20th anniversary since the opening of numerous camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina will resume in Hadzici near Sarajevo on Thursday, May 10.
D.Dz.