(20) May-June 92:

The Luka-Brcko camp at one time held about 1,000 civilians, predominantly Muslim internees.
At one point, approximately 50% of the internees had crosses engraved into their foreheads with
knives by Chetniks who gave them Orthodox names such as Alexander. The internees were
required to say "I am Alexander." One internee agreed to say "I am Alexander" only after 3 or 4
days of beatings. He was convinced by fellow internees that it is better to say it than to die. This
did not happen to Croatians, only Muslims.

Also a daily occurrence, a police commander, and other camp personnel came into the hangar
with Raki (an alcoholic beverage) and tartan (white pills). An internee had his mouth opened
and the police commander forced the Raki and pills into his throat. The police then told the
internee to beat with a club everyone in the hangar. He obeyed, and for 1-2 hours beat up his
fellow internees in the third hangar until they passed out.

Internees lived in one of three hangars; the first, 20 by 28 meters in size, housed 650-700 men, the
second, 20 by 40 meters, housed 120-180 men; and the third, 20 by 40 meters, housed
approximately 300 men, women, and children. Many killings and tortures occurred in front of
internees in the third hangar. There was also one more area where women and children were
kept. The second and third hangars were connected by a large door through which people could
see each other.

Internees in the first hangar slept standing up because of the limited space. In the other two
hangars, they were allow to sit but legs had to remain straight on the ground, all internees had to
remain along the wall, and the central area had to remain empty. They were allowed to go to the
toilet once a day for no longer than a minute. The toilet was located in another building. In
many instances, approximately five 10-liter buckets were placed in each of the hangars and used
as toilets. The conditions at the camp were so bad that some of the internees went crazy. One
man rammed his face into a wall, causing it to bleed. In June, goats were placed in the hangars
and lived with internees. The stench inside the hangars was a combination of goats, human
excrement, and dead internees placed behind the third hangar. Blood was ankle deep in the area
where the bodies were placed.

The internees initially each received 50 grams of bread and approximately 0.15 liters of thin bean
soup each day. Later every 10 persons received 800 grams of bread per day, and every two people
shared a 0.16-liter portion of bean porridge once a week. The porridge was always spoiled. Still
later, 10-12 people shared 800 grams of bread every 4 days. (Department of State)
RETURN TO UNCONQUERED BOSNIA HOMEPAGE