RAJILIĆ: WORLD SHOULD FINALLY LEARN TRUTH ABOUT SUFFERING OF SERBS IN BiH

BANJA LUKA, JULY 17 /SRNA/ – The Association of Women Victims of War of Republika Srpska has welcomed the arrival of US investigators-prosecutors in Derventa on Monday, July 20, as well as the efforts of the Association of Camp Inmates of Republika Srpska to ensure that the world learns the truth about the suffering of Serbs during the past war, the association's president Božica Živković Rajilić said in a statement to SRNA.

Rajilić said that it has been a very difficult struggle for the international public to hear the truth about the suffering of Serbs, adding that Republika Srpska institutions have documented the existence of 536 detention camps for Serbs in BiH.

She reminded that associations and institutions of Republika Srpska had previously submitted documentation to former Chief Prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal Serge Brammertz regarding numerous sites of Serb suffering in Tuzla and its surroundings, Zenica, as well as camps in Mostar.

Rajilić said she expects that following the arrival of the US investigators-prosecutors in Derventa, others will also come and take statements from additional former detainees.

"The ball has started rolling regarding crimes committed against Serbs. It is slow and so far symbolic, but perhaps this will be the beginning of learning about Serb suffering in other regions as well, and investigations will expand to places that have not previously been mentioned," Rajilić noted.

Five US investigators-prosecutors are expected to arrive in Derventa on Monday, July 20, to take statements from eight former detainees about the suffering they endured in the Rabić military warehouse camp for Serbs in 1992.

During the war in Derventa, before the Army of Republika Srpska had even been formed, Croatian and Muslim forces attacked the local Serb population. Camps for Serbs were established, including the most notorious ones at the Army Hall and the Rabić site.

The Rabić camp, established in April 1992, held 120 Serbs, while several hundred Serb civilians passed through detention camps in the Derventa area in total.