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Women’s Association |
Zenica, 22 August 2008
To:
Chief Prosecutor of the ICTY
Mr. Serge Brammertz
Dear Mister Brammertz,
Medica Zenica greets the long expected act of the arrest of Radovan Karadžić, accused of war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the fact that he has after 13 years been brought to the Court of Justice in the Hague.
Medica Zenica is the first nongovernmental organization that has started providing support and protection to women and girls survivors of war rapes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded in 1993 with the initiative endorsed by Dr. Monika Hauser, current Executive Director of "medica mondiale". For 16 years the staff of Medica Zenica has been helping women and girls to overcome their traumatic experiences acquired through different forms of sexual violence and other war terrors. The support has been provided through individual and group psychotherapeutical work as well as through medical care. Considering the fact that we are well aware of the psychological and other consequences that women survivors of war rape endure even today, Medica Zenica staff fully agrees with the initiative of dr. Monika Hauser, Executive Director of Medica Mondiale, to make Radovan Karadžić and Mladić answer for the crimes committed against women and girls during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Accordingly, we completely support the contents of the letter referred to you by Dr. Monika Hauser.
For the purpose of healing women, girls and their families and children we strongly believe that ICTY will take adequate legal measures to bring to the Court of Justice the responsible perpetrators, in this case being Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, and to prosecute them for the committed genocide and crimes against humanity part of which are mass war rapes.
This will help restore hope in justice to war rape survivors and their families.
Punishing the responsible persons for war crimes, including mass war rapes in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only way to make sure something like that never happens anywhere again.
With respect,
On behalf of Medica Zenica,
Sabiha Husic, Executive Director
