srebrenica rapes: bosniak women & girls sexually tortured by serbs around srebrenica

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  • 8/9/2019 Srebrenica Rapes: Bosniak Women & Girls Sexually Tortured by Serbs Around Srebrenica

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    We speak of genocide, killings, and ethnic cleansing... but we rarely speak about things that

    people tend to be uncomfortable with, like mass rapes committed by Serb soldiers in and around

    Srebrenica between 1992 and 1995. On the occasion of 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica

    Genocide, we break that silence.

    The story of 15 year old Edina Karic and 12year old Almira Bektovic[At the end of this article, you will find instructions how to help]

    By: Srebrenica Genocide BlogDate: 10 July 2010

    During the Bosnian war, Serb forces conducted sexual abuse strategy on Bosnian Muslim girls and

    women which will later be known as mass rape phenomenon. The NGO "Woman - Victim of War"(ena - rtva Rata) has documented more than 25,000 systematic rapes of women and girls in Bosnia-Herzegovina, many of them occurred in the Srebrenica region before and during the Srebrenicagenocide. Mass rapes were mostly done in Eastern Bosnia. Women and girls were kept in variousdetention centres where they had to live in intolerably unhygienic conditions and were mistreated inmany ways including being repeatedly raped. Serb soldiers or policemen would come to thesedetention centres, select one or more women, take them out and rape them. All this was done in fullview, in complete knowledge and sometimes with the direct involvement of the Serb local authorities,particularly the police forces.

    "I was screaming too much"

    Edina Karic was one of many underage girls from Srebrenica municipality who were confined in theSase camp and repeatedly raped by Serb soldiers. She was only 15 at the time. She testified as adefence witness for Naser Oric, former defender of Srebrenica. Upon being imprisoned in the Sase rapecamp (Srebrenica municipality), Edina Karic was repeatedly raped. She testified, in Naser Oric trial,that members of the paramilitary Serb group, led by Novak Stjepanovic "Krke", regularly visited thecamp and took women and little girls for gang-rape.

    "We were taken into that house and we were raped and abused and beaten throughout the night, and Imyself had a gun pointed at my head all the time.... I was screaming too much."

    Her testimony of rape was so distressing that the judges went into private session against her wishes.According to Oric's legal counsel, Vasvija Vidovic, Serb soldiers repeatedly raped Bosnian Muslimwomen around Srebrenica:

    "She [Edina Karic] identified many local Serbs from Bjelovac, Sase and Pobrdje who ran the camp ofGradina where they killed and tortured people as well as raped little girls," according to Mrs. Vidovic.

    The situation in other parts of predominantly Bosniak region of the River Drina valley was no different.For example, there were numerous rape camps in Foca. Serb soldiers removed many Muslim girls from

    http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/11/fact-25000-documented-rapes-of-women-in.htmlhttp://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/11/fact-25000-documented-rapes-of-women-in.html
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    various detention centres and kept some of them for various periods of time for him or his soldiers torape.

    "Don't take me, I'm only twelve!"

    Among the most appalling and deplorable accounts of inhuman treatment and cruelty brought upon

    young Muslim females of Bosnia is that of the 12-year-old Almira Bektovic, a helpless war victim forwhom virtually no compassion was shown whatsoever. Born in the town of Mostar in the year 1980,she lived in Miljevina in the municipality of Foca, the birth village of her father, Ramiz Bektovic, at thetime of the Serb attack on these areas in the summer of 1992. Her father was taken away by the Serbsin june 1992 and was never seen again. Almira and her mother were instead detained in the PartizanSports Hall with hundreds of other Bosniak women and girls under inhuman conditions and with lackof food or water.

    In mid-August 1992, Almira Bektovic among other girls was brought to 'Karaman's house' by RadovanStankovic, this lasted for ten days until she was returned to her mother whom she told that "she hadworked as a waitress, washed clothes, cleaned and cooked, and that there were many other girls therewho did chores and things for the Serb soldiers".

    Afterwards in mid-september 1992 deportation busses were prepared for elderly Bosnian Muslimwomen and young children that were to take them to Bosnian-government-controlled areas forexchange; in a bus were Almira and her mother and two sisters, however suddenly the bus was stoppedat the Drina bridge, and entered did men sent by Radovan Stankovic, who called out the name of thegirl and snatched Almira Bektovic from her mother's arms, who then screamed repeatedly "Give meback my child!" before losing consciousness, Almira was heard screaming and crying "Don't take me,I'm only twelve!".

    One of the surviving witnesses from Karaman's house reported that Almira was brought to the householding her doll tightly to her chest, apparently not knowing what was awaiting her. Soon thereafterNedjo Samardzic raped Almira Bektovic and reportedly bragged about "having taken her virginity" and"having fooled soldier Pero Elez (who was always looking for virgins) in who was to be the first to takeher virginity". Almira was found crying and vomiting after the assault (as part of rape traumasyndrome), by one the surviving girls from the house.

    Over the next three months Almira Bektovic was forced into much the same pattern as all the otherwomen and girls detained in the house; she had to do household chores, cook for the soldiers andsexually please these, at the age of merely 12.

    Almira's status however was even more vulnerable than that of the other girls who (in contrast toAlmira) were 'assigned' to specific soldiers who got to rape them only, Almira thus not being assignedto any specific soldier was free to be raped by any soldier that was granted entrance to Karaman'shouse. Radomir Kovac (Court of BiH) detained, between or about 31 October 1992 until December1992 Almira Bektovic (and other girls). During their detention they were also beaten, threatened,psychologically oppressed, and kept in constant fear. During this period Almira was moved betweenvarious locations and apartments in Foca in order to 'serve' Serb soldiers and friends of RadomirKovac. On about 25 December 1992, Radomir Kovac sold Almira Bektovic to a Montenegrin soldier(who were known among the detained women as "more aggressive") for 200 DM (100 Euro), and fromthere on the tracks of her are lost (probably murdered shortly thereafter).

    http://www.icty.org/x/cases/stankovic/ind/en/stan-2ai030303.htmhttp://www.icty.org/x/cases/stankovic/ind/en/stan-2ai030303.htmhttp://www.bim.ba/en/38/10/1681/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kunarac/cis/en/cis_kunarac_al_en.pdfhttp://www.sudbih.gov.ba/index.php?id=314&jezik=ehttp://www.icty.org/x/cases/stankovic/ind/en/stan-2ai030303.htmhttp://www.icty.org/x/cases/stankovic/ind/en/stan-2ai030303.htmhttp://www.bim.ba/en/38/10/1681/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kunarac/cis/en/cis_kunarac_al_en.pdfhttp://www.sudbih.gov.ba/index.php?id=314&jezik=e
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    HOW TO HELP EDINA KARIC:

    To help Edina Karic and her two beautiful children [SEE PICTURES], please donate via Sadake.com(if you need translation into English or further instruction, feel free to ask questions in the commentform).

    Breaking the Silence, continue reading:

    - One of many accounts of rapes after the fall of Srebrenica- Raped women were also victims of the Srebrenica Genocide- Silence and Shame Shield Srebrenica Rapists from Justice- Babies of Bosnia's Rape Victims Forgotten by the State

    http://www.sadake.com/samohrani/edina-karic/http://www.sadake.com/samohrani/edina-karic/http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/08/serbs-raped-bosniak-women-in-potocari.htmlhttp://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2006/06/women-srebrenica-massacre.htmlhttp://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2010/07/srebrenica-rapes-go-unpunished.htmlhttp://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2005/12/bosnias-rape-babies-abandoned-by-their.htmlhttp://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2005/12/bosnias-rape-babies-abandoned-by-their.htmlhttp://www.sadake.com/samohrani/edina-karic/http://www.sadake.com/samohrani/edina-karic/http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2009/08/serbs-raped-bosniak-women-in-potocari.htmlhttp://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2006/06/women-srebrenica-massacre.htmlhttp://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2010/07/srebrenica-rapes-go-unpunished.htmlhttp://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2005/12/bosnias-rape-babies-abandoned-by-their.html