Manjača camp

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Manjača camp
Concentration camp and internment camp
Detainees at Manjača, near Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Coordinates44°39′21″N 17°01′37″E / 44.65583°N 17.02694°E / 44.65583; 17.02694
LocationManjača, near Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Operated byYugoslav People's Army; later Republika Srpska military authorities
Original useMilitary and agricultural facilities
Operational1991–1992; briefly reused in 1995
InmatesBosniaks, Bosnian Croats and Croatian prisoners of war
Number of inmatesApproximately 3,700 at peak; 4,500–6,000 estimated to have passed through the camp

The Manjača camp was a Bosnian Serb-run concentration camp and internment camp located on Manjača mountain near Banja Luka, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It operated during the Croatian War of Independence and the Bosnian War, first holding Croatian prisoners of war captured by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), and later mainly Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats detained by Republika Srpska military and police authorities.[1][2]

According to the United Nations Commission of Experts, the camp held about 3,700 prisoners during its peak period in 1992. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported that 3,737 prisoners were visited and registered at Manjača in July and August 1992.[2] Other estimates were higher, partly because detainees were repeatedly transferred between Manjača and other detention sites, including Omarska camp, Keraterm camp and Trnopolje camp.[2]

The camp was closed after international pressure and the transfer or release of detainees in late 1992, but was briefly used again in October 1995. In early 1996, following the Dayton Agreement, the former camp and the neighbouring military facilities were opened to IFOR personnel for inspection.

Background

Manjača began operating during the 1991 war in Croatia, when the JNA used the site to hold Croatian prisoners of war. After the outbreak of the Bosnian War in 1992, the camp was used to detain mainly Bosniak and Croat men from areas under Bosnian Serb control, particularly from the wider Bosanska Krajina region, including Prijedor, Sanski Most, Ključ and Banja Luka.[2]

The prison population changed over time as detainees were moved from other camps and detention facilities. The United Nations Commission of Experts recorded that the camp population rose sharply in August 1992, when detainees were transferred from Omarska and other facilities, and that a second compound was opened to accommodate the influx.[2]

Although camp officials described many detainees as prisoners of war, international observers reported that most prisoners appeared to be civilians. A Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe mission reported that many detainees claimed to have been arrested at home and that they were not wearing military uniforms. The UN Commission of Experts also recorded allegations that many prisoners were detained because their age and Bosniak ethnicity made them appear to the Bosnian Serb authorities as potential combatants.[2]

Prisoners and conditions

Most detainees at Manjača were men, commonly between the ages of 18 and 60, although reports also mentioned prisoners younger than 18 and older than 60. The camp population was described in most reports as predominantly Bosniak and Croat. The UN Commission of Experts also recorded allegations that a small number of women were held at the camp in early 1992 and subjected to wartime sexual violence.[2]

Conditions in the camp were harsh. Reports cited by the United Nations described overcrowding, inadequate food, poor hygiene, limited medical care, beatings and forced labour. Detainees were housed in former farm buildings and stables, often with little personal space. Medical services were described as basic and largely provided by detainee doctors with few supplies.[2]

Food and water were also reported to be insufficient. Some reports stated that prisoners received two meals per day, often consisting of small amounts of bread, tea, soup or gruel. Water was described as rationed, and some former prisoners reported major weight loss during detention. The UN Commission of Experts recorded claims that detainees lost between 10 and 40 kilograms during two to three months in the camp.[2]

Forced labour was reported as a common practice at Manjača. Prisoners were allegedly used for work in forests, for moving supplies and military material, and for construction or maintenance work around the camp. Some reports stated that prisoners were guarded by armed soldiers and dogs while performing labour outside the detention buildings.[2]

The International Committee of the Red Cross began visiting the camp in July 1992. According to the UN Commission of Experts, conditions reportedly improved after the first ICRC visits, although former detainees and human rights organizations stated that beatings and abuse continued, especially when international observers were not present.[2]

Human rights abuses

Manjača was the site of serious human rights abuses, including beatings, torture, humiliation, forced labour and killings of detainees. Reports collected by international organizations described systematic mistreatment and the targeting of prominent individuals, including intellectuals, professionals, political figures, business leaders and religious leaders.[2][3]

The camp was part of a wider network of detention facilities used during the Bosnian War. Detainees were frequently transferred between Manjača and other camps in north-western Bosnia, including Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje. Survivors were often later transferred, exchanged, deported or forcibly displaced from the area.[2]

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) considered evidence relating to Manjača in several cases concerning war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing committed in the Bosanska Krajina region. Milomir Stakić, a former senior official in Prijedor Municipality, was convicted by the ICTY of crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. His conviction was upheld on appeal in 2006.[3]

Stojan Župljanin, a senior police official in the Bosnian Serb authorities, was tried together with Mićo Stanišić. In 2013, both were convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in 2016 the ICTY Appeals Chamber affirmed their sentences.[4]

ICJ judgment

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) referred to detention camps, including Manjača, in its 26 February 2007 judgment in the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide case. The Court examined atrocities committed in detention camps in relation to Article II(b) of the Genocide Convention, concerning serious bodily or mental harm to members of a protected group.

Having carefully examined the evidence presented before it, and taken note of that presented to the ICTY, the Court considers that it has been established by fully conclusive evidence that members of the protected group were systematically victims of massive mistreatment, beatings, rape and torture causing serious bodily and mental harm during the conflict and, in particular, in the detention camps. The requirements of the material element, as defined by Article II (b) of the Convention are thus fulfilled. The Court finds, however, on the basis of evidence before it, that it has not been conclusively established that those atrocities, although they too may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, were committed with the specific intent (dolus specialis) to destroy the protected group, in whole or in part, required for a finding that genocide has been perpetrated.[5]

Closure and later use

The main 1992 operation of the camp ended after international pressure, ICRC involvement and the transfer or release of detainees. Some accounts state that the camp was emptied and closed in December 1992, while the site was later briefly used again in October 1995, near the end of the Bosnian War.[6]

After the Dayton Agreement, IFOR personnel inspected the former camp and nearby military facilities as part of the post-war implementation process.

See also

References