12 BABIES ALLEY PLANTED - ETERNAL REMINDER OF BANJA LUKA BABIES TRAGEDY

BANJA LUKA, MAY 22 /SRNA/ – Trees were planted today in Mladen Stojanović Park in Banja Luka forming “12 Babies Alley” as a permanent reminder of one of the most heartbreaking events in recent history – the extinguished lives of 12 babies who died in 1992 due to the lack of understanding by world powers that did not allow the transport of oxygen.

Each planted tree is symbolically dedicated to one of the tragically deceased babies, and the goal is to preserve the truth about the tragedy that shocked the entire world through a culture of remembrance. Head of the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre Denis Bojić, who initiated 12 Babies Alley, says that it represents a powerful symbol of collective remembrance. "This is a form of remembrance culture that is very powerful, because all children who walk through the park in 20 or 30 years will have a strong reminder of each of our babies," Bojić said. He emphasized that the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre, within its newly opened and most comprehensive database of recorded testimonies about the suffering of Serbs, will devote special attention to the families of the deceased babies, announced the Republika Srpska Memorial Centre. On the occasion of marking 34 years since the tragedy, wreaths and flowers were laid today at the Life Memorial in Banja Luka city centre, while earlier a memorial service was held at the New Cemetery and flowers were laid at the monument dedicated to the deceased babies. During May and June 1992, international flights were banned by a decision of the UN Security Council, including those that were supposed to deliver oxygen cylinders from Belgrade to Banja Luka. Due to the inability to transport oxygen, 12 newborn babies who were in incubators died at the then Clinical Centre Banja Luka. The first baby died on May 22, 1992, after which the agony and deaths of the other babies followed. By June 19 of the same year, 12 babies had died in Banja Luka, becoming a symbol of the violation of human rights and the inhumanity of the international community. The agony ended with the breakthrough of the corridor and the reconnection of the Banja Luka region with other parts of Republika Srpska and Serbia. The thirteenth baby, Slađana Kobas, lost her battle for life at the age of 14, while the fourteenth baby, Marko Medaković, suffered lifelong consequences due to the lack of oxygen. The 12 babies tragedy remains to this day one of the most painful symbols of civilian suffering and the consequences of political decisions made during the war.