TRAGEDY OF 12 BANJA LUKA BABIES MARKED 34 YEARS LATER

BIJELJINA, MAY 21 /SRNA/ - Twelve prematurely born babies died in the intensive care unit of the Banja Luka maternity hospital between May 22 and June 19, 1992, after being denied adequate medical oxygen and the possibility of transport to Belgrade for treatment.

The first appeal for help from the Banja Luka Clinical Center was sent on May 21, 1992, while hospital staff attempted to replace medical oxygen with industrial oxygen supplied by numerous individuals and organizations from Banja Luka following the appeal. However, the industrial oxygen was not sterile, lacked the same level of humidity, and the cylinders were filled under varying pressure levels. The first oxygen crisis was temporarily resolved through mediation by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN peace mission in BiH, when aircraft delivered 180 oxygen cylinders and other medical aid to Banja Luka in early June. The assistance, however, was only short-term and the Clinical Center soon entered another period of uncertainty. Media across Yugoslavia launched a campaign urging permission for humanitarian flights to prevent further tragedy at the Clinical Center, supported by numerous public figures. Appeals were also sent by Yugoslav President Dobrica Ćosić and Serbian Patriarch Pavle. At the time, Muslim-Croat forces controlled the "Corridor of Life" in Posavina, leaving air transport as the only way to deliver oxygen supplies. Responsibility for the tragedy lies with those who had the power to help but failed to do so, primarily then-UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the UN Security Council, and the UN Sanctions Committee, which delayed and ultimately failed to approve a humanitarian flight carrying oxygen and medical equipment from Batajnica airport. The standard procedure for obtaining flight clearance usually lasted up to seven days, but permission was not granted even after 12 days. In 2008, the Republika Srpska Government's Committee for the Preservation of Liberation War Traditions included the deaths of the Banja Luka babies in the Program for Marking Significant Historical Dates and Events of Republika Srpska as an event of regional significance, while May 22 was officially proclaimed the Day of Remembrance for the 12 Babies Who Died Due to Lack of Oxygen in 1992.