OneWorld.net (U.S.)

Provoked by the fact that, 15 years after the start of wars in former Yugoslavia, no information has been presented on war crimes committed in the name of Serbia, Women in Black started the Women Ask action, to ask the authorities to bring the information on those crimes to the light of the day.

In their address to the public and the competent institutions on the occasion of the 15th anniversary from the start of the war, illegal forced mobilizations, aggression and crimes against peace, the Women in Black demand the truth and the lifting of “military secret” seal from the war-crimes related information.

"Only the presentation of the truth about the crimes committed in our name, punishment for the creators, people who ordered and committed the crimes will enable the current authorities to escape the burden of the past. We know that the climate that led to the war in the first place will continue to dominate Sirbia unless the whole truth is exposed”, say Women in Black in the public statement.

"The women paid huge price to the war. They worried the most about the victims of war, refugees, deserting soldiers. It was the women that first stood against the war. It was the women that played the most active role in bringing down the dictatorship. Today, the women who demand a break-up with the criminal past are demonized and there are public calls to lynch them”, add the Women in Black.

These are the questions asked:

How many civilian victims suffered in the 1991-1999 wars? How many soldiers died in the wars? What is the number of victims buried in mass graves in Serbia? What is the number of disabled? What is the number of refugees? How many volunteers from Serbia fought in battlefields of former Yugoslavia? How many men were forcibly mobilized? What is the number of reservists that didn’t answer the mobilization calls? How many of them took to hiding to avoid military service? How many men stood trial in military tribunals for failing to report to the illegal mobilization or going AWOL? How many men stood trial in front of misdemeanour courts on the same charges? How many reservist revolts took place in Serbia? How many men, mostly young men, left the country to not go to war? How many refugees in Serbia were mobilized in violation of all international conventions and treaties, according to the lists submitted to the Ministry of Interior by the Red Cross and the Commissioner for Refugees?

On October 9, Women in Black marked the 15th anniversary of its existence. For overview of activities of this feminist-antimilitarist organization, visit their web-site at www.zeneucrnom.org.