Milorad Dodik, leader of SNSD, stated that the “Silos” concentration camp in Tarčin near Sarajevo, where more than 600 Serbian civilians were detained, was a systematically organized torture site in which civilians—including children, pregnant women, and the elderly—were abused, beaten, starved, and psychologically broken under extremely inhumane conditions.
He emphasized that even today, 30 years after its closure, the notorious “Silos” camp remains a symbol of the suffering of Serb civilians, a painful warning, and an open wound in the collective memory of the Serb people.
“The torture and humiliation endured by the camp inmates solely because of their Serb name, surname, and origin represent the deepest moral collapse of modern civilization—carried out by those who even today speak of so-called democracy, multiethnicity, and coexistence,” Dodik said.
He added that Serbs once again showed naivety by trusting their Muslim neighbors and the communist utopia of brotherhood and unity—an illusion that ultimately cost the Serb people the most, despite their ancestors having brought freedom to these lands in 1945.
“We believed that fascism had been finally defeated and buried. However, in the 1990s, the descendants of supporters of the greatest evil of the 20th century—the dark ideology of Nazism and fascism—resurfaced and attempted to complete what they had failed to do during World War II. The descendants of the Handžar Division continued to commit unprecedented brutal crimes against innocent Serbs, and one of the eternal symbols of that evil are the walls of ‘Silos,’ which bear witness to that dark and painful truth,” Dodik stressed.
He underlined the particular gravity of the fact that the camp remained operational even after the Dayton Peace Agreement had been signed.
“While the world spoke of the end of the war and peace, organized camps where Serbs were subjected to torture still existed in Sarajevo. This is yet another stain on the conscience of all those who remained silent at the time. But they have neither conscience, nor shame, nor any sense of guilt or responsibility,” Dodik said.
He warned that the suffering of Serbs in camps—not only in Sarajevo but throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina—must not be silenced, diminished, or relativized.
“Every victim has a name, a surname, a family, and the right to truth. Remembering ‘Silos’ is not a political issue—it is a matter of humanity and empathy. Even three decades after its closure, the pain remains alive, compounded by the fact that the Hague Tribunal refused to deal with this case and transferred it to the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, ironically located in a former camp for Sarajevo Serbs. The outcome of these proceedings once again confirms that quasi-judicial institutions in BiH deal superficially—or not at all—with crimes against Serbs, turning justice into a farce and mocking the victims,” Dodik stated.
He noted that when Sarajevo speaks about the war, the narrative is always the same—siege, shells, and suffering—constantly present in public discourse and political messaging.
“What is persistently ignored is the fate of Serbs in Sarajevo and its surroundings: abuse, camps, expulsions, killings, and systematic intimidation that led to the disappearance of almost an entire people from a city that had been theirs for centuries,” Dodik emphasized.
According to him, truth cannot be one-sided, nor can a moral position be built solely on one’s own suffering while ignoring that of others.
“Serbs in Sarajevo did not disappear naturally or voluntarily. Thousands of families endured threats, arrests, detention in camps like ‘Silos’ and ‘Viktor Bubanj,’ beatings, and pressure to abandon their homes and property. Many were killed, and the fate of many remains unknown. This is not discussed in Sarajevo because it does not fit their narrative in which there is only one victim and only one truth,” Dodik said.
He concluded that acknowledging crimes against Serbs is essential for genuine reconciliation, stressing that preserving the truth about the Defensive-Patriotic War is a duty owed to the victims and future generations.
“A society that forgets its victims risks repeating history—as happened in the 1990s when we fell for the illusion of Yugoslavism and artificial brotherhood and unity. That is why remembrance must endure. So that it is not forgotten. So that it never happens again,” Dodik concluded.
Source: Glas Srpske
