Nine bridges from Skenderija to Sarajevo City Hall dawned this morning with the message sent by members of the Association of Detainees of BiH in the framework of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. They did it to remind the government, which forgot about them, that a law on the rights of victims of torture has not been adopted yet.
“This is an opportunity to emphasize to BiH authorities once again that it is about time to pay attention on the former prisoners of concentration camps and victims of torture and adopt the Law on the rights of victims of torture and we are hoping for the European community and the UN General Assembly to put pressure on BiH to adopt this law,” said Jasmin Meskovic, the President of the Association of Detainees.
Central marking was held on Latin Bridge for which Meskovic says that it „represents the reef where breaks the history of BiH”.
“It is up to BiH whether the history of BiH will go through the way of forgetfulness and through the glorification of crime or the way of co-existence and reconciliation. If we decide for the second way, then the victims of torture are population for which BiH must have understanding. This is the only category that is not resolved within the legal framework, “said Meskovic.
They request that the law includes three segments – to release the exact number of victims, reparation and mark the crime-scene. They emphasized that money is not crucial and that this law is more necessary for those who have not memorized the aggression and detention camps.
“We are witnesses of history of BiH from 1940’s with killing and camps. We thought back then that there will be no war, but in 1990’s it returned and everything happened again in a larger scale. It is our obligation to create conditions for safer and better life in BiH for all victims, and that the law is applicable to all victims regardless of their nationality, religion and ethnicity,” said Meskovic.
Almir Djelilovic from the Association of Detainees of BiH said that he is hoping for the law to be adopted this year because they are waiting for it since 2005, and that the main problem is politics which, according to him, does not want to admit that there are victims of torture in BiH.
“More than 200,000 victims, 30,000 killed, 25,000 sexually abused and 3,000 missing persons, as well as thousands of indictments that are proof that there are victims of torture in BiH. Unfortunately, institutions of BiH did not realize this until now. With the adoption of the law, victims would receive a minimum of human satisfaction,” said Djelilovic.
(Source: M. N./Klix.ba)
