Silos camp
Silos | |
---|---|
Bosnian Croats | |
Number of inmates | 590 |
Killed | 24 |
Silos was a
In September 1992, a prisoner exchange was proposed in which the prisoners detained at Silos would be liberated in exchange for the liberation of Bosnian Muslims detained by the Bosnian Serbs. The negotiations eventually broke down and the exchange never took place. After the Red Cross visited Silos in November 1992, conditions improved somewhat. As many as 100 prisoners remained at Silos following the signing of the Dayton Agreement in December 1995, which ended the war. At the urging of U.S. President Bill Clinton, the camp was closed in January 1996, two months after the signing of the Dayton Agreement.
In November 2011, the
Background
Following the death of its longtime leader Josip Broz Tito in 1980, the multi-ethnic socialist state of Yugoslavia entered a period of protracted economic decline. The anemic state of the country's economy led to a substantial increase in ethnic tensions which were only exacerbated by the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.[1] The following year, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia permitted democratic elections to be held nationwide. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, political parties were established largely along ethnic lines. The Bosnian Muslims founded the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) to represent their interests, the Bosnian Serbs founded the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) and the Bosnian Croats founded the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZ BiH). The three parties were led by Alija Izetbegović, Radovan Karadžić and Stjepan Kljuić, respectively. Bosnia and Herzegovina held its first democratic election on 18 November 1990. The voting was dominated by nationalist parties such as the SDA, SDS and HDZ BiH. Socialist parties with no ethnic affiliation, most notably the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, failed to win a significant percentage of the vote.[2]
The SDA and HDZ BiH, representing the aspirations of most Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, advocated for Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence from Yugoslavia, a move opposed by the SDS and the vast majority of Bosnian Serbs.[3] On 25 June, the governments of Slovenia and Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia, leading to the Ten-Day War and the Croatian War of Independence, the first armed conflicts of what would become known as the Yugoslav Wars.[4] In November 1991, the SDS organized a plebiscite, boycotted by Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats, in which the vast majority of Bosnian Serbs voted to remain part of Yugoslavia.[5] The Bosnian government declared the referendum unconstitutional.[6] The following month, an arbitration commission established by the European Economic Community (EEC) declared that a legally binding nationwide independence referendum would be a prerequisite for the EEC's eventual recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence.[3] The SDS rejected such a referendum as unconstitutional.[3] On 9 January 1992, the SDS announced the establishment of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a self-proclaimed autonomous entity which was to include all the municipalities in which more than 50 percent of voters had voted to remain part of Yugoslavia.[7]
A nationwide independence referendum was held between 29 February and 1 March.[8] At the urging of the SDS, the vast majority of Bosnian Serbs boycotted it.[9] The referendum was reported as having a voter turnout of 63.4 percent, of whom 99.8 percent voted for independence.[10] Since only 63.4 percent of eligible voters had taken part, the referendum failed to attain the two-thirds majority mandated by Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitution.[11] The same day, Izetbegović declared the independence of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Muslim-dominated People's Assembly quickly ratified the decision.[12]
Operation
The grain silo contained eleven compartments, 25 square metres (270 sq ft) to 35 square metres (380 sq ft) each. Between each compartment were walls about 4 metres (13 ft) high, and between 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) and 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) wide. The space between compartments was patrolled by camp guards, who referred to each other exclusively by their surnames.[14] The first detainees were brought to Silos in mid-May 1992. These initial forcible detentions lasted until June.[13] According to survivors, inmates ranged between the ages of 14 and 80. Among those arrested was Slavko Jovičić, a future deputy in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as at least two Bosnian Serbs who had fought with the ARBiH.[15][a] Prisoners did not see daylight for months at a time; some died of starvation.[13][b] One survivor reported having lost 50 kilograms (110 lb) during his detention.[18] The camp contained no sanitary facilities or running water and was surrounded by barbed wire. Inmates slept on the concrete floor.[14] Some inmates died of disease. Many fell ill as the silo floor became covered with human excrement; others were killed by gunfire and artillery while labouring on the frontlines on their captors' orders.[19] The camp was capable of holding 600 inmates at full capacity.[13]
In September 1992, a prisoner exchange involving 454 Bosnian Muslim and 463 Bosnian Serb detainees was attempted. It was envisaged that the
More than 100 inmates remained captive after the signing of the
Aftermath
Legal proceedings
On 22 November 2011, the
On 5 July 2018, in a first-instance verdict, all eight defendants were found guilty of illegally detaining civilians and holding them in unbearable living conditions. The eight were acquitted of committing crimes against
The retrial commenced on 17 September 2019.
Legacy
In November 2012, the judges presiding over Karadžić's trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague dismissed the testimony of camp survivor Radojka Pandurević on the grounds that it did not pertain directly to the charges against Karadžić.[c] Pandurević had been summoned to appear as a defence witness by Karadžić.[37] The following year, the legal scholar Janine Natalya Clark interviewed Pandurević, who had been detained at Silos for 1,339 days. "[My] time at the ICTY was worse than [my] time in the camp," the woman told Clark. She also stated that the experience further reinforced her belief that "the Tribunal has no interest in hearing about crimes against Serbs."[36] Clark noted that most of the local Bosniaks she interviewed denied having any knowledge of the camp and invariably redirected the conversation towards atrocities committed by the Bosnian Serbs.[38]
In 2013, camp survivor Đorđo Šuvajlo published a memoir titled 1,135 Days (Serbian: 1.135 dana), recounting his experiences at Silos. An English-language translation of the memoir was published in 2017.[39]
Footnotes
- Allahu Akbar and they started beating us ... When the group got tired of beating us, others stepped into their place. That lasted two or three hours, and then they took us to the Silos camp."[16] Other inmates were transferred to Silos after being detained at the 9th of May primary school in the village of Pazarić. One survivor, who had been detained for ten days at the school before being relocated to Silos, recalled, "they ordered us to kneel and bow in prayer and they kicked us while we were doing it."[17]
- ^ "We got one bowl of stew for seven or eight prisoners," one survivor recalled. "It smelled of urine ... One of us took a spoon, then another, we would go in circles. Sometimes you got one spoonful of food, sometimes two or three."[16]
- ^ Pandurević had written a nine-page statement which she intended to submit as evidence. The judges ruled that much of her statement, especially the passages pertaining to her experiences at Silos, were "irrelevant – and thus inadmissible". Although her statement was admitted as evidence, the passages pertaining to Silos – representing around one-third of her statement – were blacked out.[36]
Citations
- ISBN 978-1-5575-3617-4.
- ISBN 978-0-7656-3189-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-23028-584-2.
- ISBN 978-0-253-34656-8.
- ^ Calic 2019, p. 301
- ISBN 978-0-521-76380-6.
- ^ Calic 2019, p. 304
- ISBN 978-1-10707-335-7.
- ^ Donia 2014, p. 161
- ^ Pavković 2000, p. 161
- ISBN 978-0-27104-435-4.
- ^ Burg & Shoup 1999, p. 118
- ^ a b c d e f Burg & Shoup 1999, p. 179
- ^ a b c United Nations (1994). "Final Report of the Commission of Experts".
- ^ "All Serbs From Pazaric and Tarcin Were Arrested, Witness Says". Balkan Insight. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Bosnian Serbs 'Beaten' at Sarajevo Jail Camp". Balkan Insight. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Dzidic, Denis (25 June 2013). "Serb Recalls Violent Abuse at Bosniak School Jail". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Dzidic, Denis (21 August 2014). "Bosnian Serb Prisoners Recall Beatings at Silos Camp". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ a b McLaughlin, Daniel (9 July 2011). "A land divided". The Irish Times. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Pomfret, John (10 September 1992). "Civilian Exchange Fails, Prisoners Returned to Jail". Associated Press. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Bosnian Army 'Forced Prisoners to Dig Frontline Trenches'". Balkan Insight. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Dolinsky, Lewis (2 December 1998). "They Showed Serbs Were Victims Too". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Pomfret, John (24 January 1996). "Vendettas Highlight Horror of Bosnian POW Drama". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Eight Tarcin Crimes Suspects Arrested". Balkan Insight. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Hadzovic, Eldin (23 December 2011). "Sarajevo Shuns Recognition of Bosniak War Crimes". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-29930-464-5.
- ^ "Not Guilty Pleas in Silos War Camp Case". Balkan Insight. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Nezir Kazic Pleads not Guilty". Justice Report. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Sorguc, Albina (5 July 2018). "Eight Bosniaks Jailed for Sixty Years for Prison Camp Abuses". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Dizdarevic, Emina (15 July 2019). "Bosniaks' Convictions for Detention Camp Abuse Quashed". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Rovcanin, Haris (17 September 2019). "Bosnia Retries Eight for Wartime Jail Camp Abuses". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ a b Rovcanin, Haris (10 June 2021). "Silos: Forty-Two Years for Crimes in Hadzici Area". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ Dizdarevic, Emina (10 March 2021). "Bosnian War Defendant Dies Before Prison Camp Trial Verdict". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Dan žalosti u Hadžićima zbog smrti Mustafe Đelilovića". Dnevni avaz (in Bosnian). 11 March 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
- ^ "Sud BiH: Drugostepenom presudom Šerif Mešanović osuđen na šest godina". N1 (in Bosnian). 11 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-31797-475-8.
- ^ Šarić, Velma (30 November 2012). "Judges Dismiss Evidence From Karadzic Witnesses". Institute for War & Peace Reporting. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Clark 2014, p. 99
- ^ Ristic, Biljana (19 September 2017). "1,335 Days". SBS Serbian. Retrieved 19 March 2020.