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| Bosnian man leads compensation campaign for war victims on all sides | Bosnian man leads compensation campaign for war victims on all sides |
| (7 days later) | |
| A 72-year-old Bosnian has achieved the seemingly impossible by bringing together 7,000 people from all sides of his country's bitter communal divisions to press for compensation for their suffering during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. | A 72-year-old Bosnian has achieved the seemingly impossible by bringing together 7,000 people from all sides of his country's bitter communal divisions to press for compensation for their suffering during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war. |
| Zijahudin Smailagic told the Guardian that 3,000 Bosniaks, 2,600 Croats and around 1,500 Serbs had come together to press for redress for the time they spent shut away in hundreds of detention camps set up by different sides in the 1992-1995 war. | Zijahudin Smailagic told the Guardian that 3,000 Bosniaks, 2,600 Croats and around 1,500 Serbs had come together to press for redress for the time they spent shut away in hundreds of detention camps set up by different sides in the 1992-1995 war. |
| His Regional Former Detainees Association has so far won all 13 of the cases that have reached a conclusion in the courts of the capital, Sarajevo. But, he said, it faced a more challenging and complex situation in the Serbian-run areas of the country. Thousands of other cases brought by his association were still pending. Smailagic said his approach was "not popular" in either of the two halves of Bosnia that have persisted since the conflict. | His Regional Former Detainees Association has so far won all 13 of the cases that have reached a conclusion in the courts of the capital, Sarajevo. But, he said, it faced a more challenging and complex situation in the Serbian-run areas of the country. Thousands of other cases brought by his association were still pending. Smailagic said his approach was "not popular" in either of the two halves of Bosnia that have persisted since the conflict. |
| A distinguished-looking man with silver-flecked hair, Smailagic said he had had the "utterly crazy" idea of bringing together former enemies as a result of his own experiences. He was detained for 17 months at a Serb-run camp in the northern town of Banja Luka. He said he wore a hearing aid today because of cigarettes stubbed out on the side of his head by his captors. | A distinguished-looking man with silver-flecked hair, Smailagic said he had had the "utterly crazy" idea of bringing together former enemies as a result of his own experiences. He was detained for 17 months at a Serb-run camp in the northern town of Banja Luka. He said he wore a hearing aid today because of cigarettes stubbed out on the side of his head by his captors. |
| "Back in 1999, I became the first person to sue Republika Srpska for my suffering. In 2003, the municipal court in Banja Luka ruled in my favour and awarded me 9.5 KM (Convertible Marks, equivalent to €4.90) for each day I spent in the camp. | "Back in 1999, I became the first person to sue Republika Srpska for my suffering. In 2003, the municipal court in Banja Luka ruled in my favour and awarded me 9.5 KM (Convertible Marks, equivalent to €4.90) for each day I spent in the camp. |
| "It was less than you would pay for breakfast. That moved me to appeal on behalf of others." He set up the association two years later. Its members are largely inhabitants of the northern part of Republika Srpska. But whereas the claims of Bosniaks and Croats could be heard in Banja Luka, those of the Serbs in the association had to be brought to court in Sarajevo. | "It was less than you would pay for breakfast. That moved me to appeal on behalf of others." He set up the association two years later. Its members are largely inhabitants of the northern part of Republika Srpska. But whereas the claims of Bosniaks and Croats could be heard in Banja Luka, those of the Serbs in the association had to be brought to court in Sarajevo. |
| "That can be a problem for them," Smailagic said. "They often don't have the money to travel to Sarajevo. Some give up." | "That can be a problem for them," Smailagic said. "They often don't have the money to travel to Sarajevo. Some give up." |
| He said courts in the capital had settled on a standard level of compensation amounting to 200 KM (€103) per day in the cases that had so far been concluded. | He said courts in the capital had settled on a standard level of compensation amounting to 200 KM (€103) per day in the cases that had so far been concluded. |
| Smailagic, who worked for a transport company before the war, said the association was entirely self-funded. He had approached the US for help, "but so far we have not received an answer", he said. | Smailagic, who worked for a transport company before the war, said the association was entirely self-funded. He had approached the US for help, "but so far we have not received an answer", he said. |
| He had since applied for funding through the Norwegian embassy in Bosnia. "We are hoping that we will get something from them." | He had since applied for funding through the Norwegian embassy in Bosnia. "We are hoping that we will get something from them." |
| His fellow former detainees had, in many cases, been frightened to sue the authorities, particularly in the early days of the association. | His fellow former detainees had, in many cases, been frightened to sue the authorities, particularly in the early days of the association. |
| "I was never afraid," Smailagic said. "I just wanted the truth to be known." | "I was never afraid," Smailagic said. "I just wanted the truth to be known." |
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