NUŽDIĆ: HUMANITY DIED EVERY DAY IN SILOS CAMP

BANJA LUKA, JANUARY 27 /SRNA/ – Acting Director of the Republic Center for the Investigation of War, War Crimes and the Search for Missing Persons Viktor Nuždić said that the notorious Serb detention camp Silos in Tarčin near Sarajevo was a place where humanity died every day and pain became a way of life.

"Even a single day spent in this notorious camp was torture. It is difficult, almost impossible, to imagine the suffering, hunger, fear and humiliation endured by detainees in that dungeon for a full 1,300 days, solely because they were Serbs," Nuždić told SRNA.

He emphasized that daily torture, systematic starvation, brutal beatings, psychological abuse and forced labor were part of everyday life in Silos.

Nuždić said that around 600 Serbs passed through the camp, many of whom did not survive the harsh conditions and inhumane abuse. Those who emerged alive were left with permanent scars on their bodies and souls, and many later died as a result of the consequences.

He recalled that the Hague Tribunal never seriously addressed camps for Serbs, although, according to data from the Republic Center, there were more than 200 such camps in the Sarajevo area alone, including Silos, one of the darkest symbols of the suffering of the Serb people.

Nuždić pointed out that Silos was established in May 1992 and continued to operate for more than two months after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, stressing that many detainees had previously passed through an entire system of Sarajevo camps, carrying their suffering from one dungeon to another.

"Although the Court of BiH dealt with crimes committed against Serbs in the Silos camp, the final outcome is devastating - only seven individuals were convicted and received disgracefully minor sentences. Therefore, it is our duty not to forget," Nuždić said.

He added that during this year, the Republic Center will consolidate all data on Sarajevo camps and present the public with the most comprehensive, well-argued and documented findings, emphasizing that truth is a debt to the victims and an obligation to the future.

Today marks exactly three decades since the closure of the notorious Serb detention camp Silos in Tarčin, in the municipality of Hadžići, where around 600 Serb civilians were imprisoned during the war, 24 of whom died as a result of beatings, torture and starvation.