THE CASE OF HAVA TATAREVIC Hava Tatarevic from Prijedor lost her husband and six sons. They were taken from the village Zecovi in 1992 and their bodies were found in the Tomasica mass grave. On that basis Hava had earned the right to a civilian family pension. However, after appealing that decision with the RS Ministry of Labor, War Veterans and Disabled Persons’ Protection, due to the fact that the amount of pension was set as if she had lost one and not seven of her household members, the Ministry completely took away her right to pension, in the decision on appeal dated 30 January 2014. The Ministry found that although from the presented evidence “it can be concluded that on the 23 July 1992 her husband and six sons were taken from the place Zecovi, in Municipality Prijedor, by unidentified armed persons, and that from that moment on, any trace of them was lost”, the presented evidence is “not sufficient to establish the circumstances of their disappearance or killing ” or “whether these persons died in relation to war operations or if the murders were a consequence of a criminal offence committed by unknown perpetrators”. Understanding that our administrative system is not perfect, to say the least, and that injustices happen, this explanation gives reason for suspicion that it is a deliberate effort to continue the institutional discrimination of non-Serb civilian victims. What gives a particularly bitter taste is the above quoted reasoning which indicates that the family of Hava Tatarevic was not killed in war but that the murders were a result of an isolated criminal offense, as well as the insinuation that the identity of perpetrators needs to be established first (a convicting verdict issued), in order for the right to be recognized, which is counter to the legal provisions on the protection of civilian war victims. We hope that we will be able to use this pre-election period when institutions are more sensitive to the pressure of the civil society and citizens, and point to the injustice done. We invite all other organizations, international institutions and individuals to react according to their capabilities and competencies. Hava’s case is not an isolated case. It is only the most blatant one showing the discrimination of the civilian war victims who attempt to obtain their rights before the institutions of Republika Srpska. Group of Authors
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 22:19:05 +0000
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