CONCENTRATION CAMP SURVIVORS TO HOLD A PROTEST IN SARAJEVO ON MAY 9

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – Managing Board of the Bosnian Union of the Concentration Camp Survivors decided at the special session to hold a peaceful protest meeting in front of the FBiH entity government building since the concentration camp survivors and victims of torture are left out of all adopted laws from the end of the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia until today.

Head of the union, Murat Tahirovic stated that this population is not protected by any laws and that it is time that this population regulates their status through system solutions. In this way they would finally realize their status that belongs to them according to international conventions and the Bosnian Constitution.

At the protest meeting they will demand that the law on civilian victims of war in the FBiH entity regulates the status of victims of torture and the concentration camp survivors and that every person who spent more than three days in a concentration camp receives a status of 60% invalidity and that the law on the rights of soldiers and their families, war camp detainees based on three days spent in a concentration camp receive a status of disabled military veteran with 20% of invalidity, stated Tahirovic.

There will be no mass meetings even though the association has 53.700 registered concentration camp survivors. Out of 56 associations from Bosnia and Diaspora, 51 shall be represented at the meeting.

This rally is a warning o all authority executives to pay attention to their problems and to underline that if these categories are left out of the laws, someone might have an idea to change the character of the war fought in Bosna.

Asides the invitations sent to associations of the concentration camp survivors, the invitation was sent to the FBiH Entity Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic, the FBiH Entity Minister of Work and Social Policy Perica Jelecevic and the FBiH Entity Minister of Veterans and Disabled Affairs Zahid Crnkic.
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