New York: Bosniaks, Albanians, Croats demand justice for wartime rape victims

ANADOLIJA

Members of Bosniak, Albanian and Croat communities in the US gathered in New York on Wednesday for a protest under the slogan ‘Rally for Her Justice’ demanding that Serbia punishes perpetrators of wartime sexual violence which "Serb nationalists" committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Croatia during the 1990s.

The protest was organised by the Albanian American Woman’s Organisation. Participants called upon Serbia to prosecute those responsible for tens of thousands of war crimes and rape cases committed between 1991 and 2001.

Among the speakers was a member of New York’s City Council of Albanian descent, Mark Gjonaj.

“Some may think the wars are over in the Balkans. But for the victims of rape in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo, the war has never stopped,” he said. “Two decades after the war, they wake up every morning being aware of the fact that those who committed those heinous crimes are still moving freely.”

Gjonaj stressed that some 70,000 rape victims are still waiting for justice to be served.

“We demand of Serbia’s authorities to take urgent action to punish the perpetrators of these terrible crimes which were committed under the flag of that country,” he concluded.

Among the participants was also Vasfije Krasniqi, who was raped in Kosovo in 1998. She said she has been fighting for justice for two decades.

“The Serbs who attacked me told me that they would not kill me so that I could feel suffering while I was alive. Today, I don’t want to stand aside and endure my pain, but loudly send a message to the whole world asking for the criminals to be brought to justice,” Kasniqi said.