On the occasion of June 19 - the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict - Women in Black will hold a protest wearing all black and in silence in Foca (Bosnia and Herzegovina) on June 19, 2018.
Foca in war
On April 7, 1992 a political and military takeover of the Foca Municipality started with the first military actions in the city during the war in Bosnia. The Foca takeover ended on April 16 or 17, 1992. Surrounding villages were under siege until the middle of July 1992.
Before the attack, Bosniak civilians were sacked from their jobs, their salaries being denied and eventually even their freedom of movement was denied.
All traces of the existence of Bosniaks and their cultural heritage were wiped off from the territory attacked by the Serbian forces. Not one Bosniak was left in Foca. All mosques were demolished.
In January 1994 the Serbian authorities "put a crown" on their ethnic cleansing of Foca by renaming it to "Srbinje" (the city of Serbs).
Crimes in Foca
According to data up to 2006 gathered by the Investigating Documenting Center in Sarajevo, in crimes committed in Foca 2,704 non-Serbian citizens went missing, most of them Bosniaks. Out of that number it is confirmed that 1,899 were murdered while 853 are still considered missing.
Camps in Foca
• Criminal Correction Home in Foca, one of the biggest prisons in SFR Yugoslavia, served as the main detention object for men.
• Partizan Sports Hall served as a center for detaining women, children and elders from June 13, 1992 or earlier than that, until August 13, 1992 at the least. At that time there were at least 72 women hostages in Partizan.
• Karaman's House was a camp for raping women formed by the Miljevina battalion of the Army of Republic of Srpska Brigade for tactic operations from Foca in August 1992. The soldiers called it a "brothel". Women and girls some of which were only 12 years old were imprisoned in this camp.
• Buk Bijela Gymnasium in Foca and Elementary School in Kalinovik are objects that were used for detaining and raping women from May 1992.
The three from Foca
By passing the verdict for the three from Foca (Kunarac, Kovač, Vuković), the Hague Tribunal has in 2001 for the first time in history of international humanitarian law classified sexual slavery in conflict as a crime against humanity.
Foca at the tribunal
The indicted by the Hague Tribunal:
Dragoljub Kunarac, Radomir Kovač, Zoran Vuković, Dragan Zelenović, Gojko Janković, Janko Janjić, Radovan Stanković, Dragan Gagović, Milorad Krnojelac, Mitar Rašević, Savo Todović
Convicted by the Hague Tribunal:
Dragoljub Kunarac (28 years of prison), Radomir Kovač (20 years), Zoran Vuković (12 years), Milorad Krnojelac (12 years), Dragan Zelenović (pleaded guilty, 15 years)
Indicted by the Tribunal in Bosnia:
Radovan Stanković, Neđo Samardžić, Gojko Janković, Radmilo Vuković
Convicted by the Tribunal in Bosnia:
Radovan Stanković (20 years), Neđo Samardžić (24 years), Gojko Janković (34 years)
During the war in Bosnia (1992-1996) Foca became a synonym for mass and systematic raping of women and girls, as well as for military sexual slavery and selling and buying women.
We remember women raped in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina!
