On July 11, 2020, at the Srebrenica-Potočari memorial cemetery in Bosnia, nine men and boys were laid to rest in a moving ceremony. Their names were added to thousands of other neatly lined marble tombstones. The date bearing the month of death is, chillingly, identical on all graves.
The remains of the eight new burials have only recently been identified. Remains are still being unearthed. These deaths did not come about through some natural disaster. Instead, they were a result of genocidal intent.
Similar ceremonies are likely to be held in the future. The perpetrators tried hard to cover their tracks. Burial in mass graves was not enough; they were later dug up and the bones were scattered to conceal all traces of the crime.
Twenty-five years removed from these horrid events, such ceremonies provide some form of closure for the mothers, sisters, wives and daughters of approximately 8,000 Bosniak men and boys who were rounded by Bosnian Serb forces, led by Ratko Mladic, and executed indiscriminately. Some reports suggest some victims were buried alive while others were forced to watch the execution of their relatives.
UN Dutch peacekeeping forces supposedly protected the town of Srebrenica. As the Bosnian Serb offensive escalated, the UN peacekeepers surrendered, thus sending thousands of innocent Bosniaks to their deaths. Women and children boarded buses to be taken to a safe destination, while men and boys were sent to their deaths.
In the aftermath of the massacre, a UN tribunal in The Hague noted that the mass killings were planned. The UN acknowledged that its failure to protect Srebrenica was a stain on its record – a record which is fraught with such examples of negligence and incompetence.
The international community often seems unable – or unwilling – to do anything to call out and combat situations of genocide
A report by the Amsterdam-based NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies published a report which was very critical of the actions taken by peacekeepers. It criticised the Dutch government, then led by the Labour Party’s Wim Kok, for sending Dutch soldiers in a danger zone without a proper mandate to protect and the necessary weapons to do so. Given that approximately 30,000 refugees fled to the base in Potocari, this failure was costly in terms of lives. Kok and his entire cabinet resigned in 2002 as a result of the findings of this report.
On the 25th anniversary of this tragedy, there are three speeches which are striking in the message they convey.
The first was delivered at the burial service by Munira Subasic, the president of the Mothers of Srebrenica Association. Her message was directed to the war criminals and the perpetrators of genocide: “We will haunt you, and we will never wear down. One of us will always be there to haunt you. It is our right and our duty.”
Truth and remembrance are essential if there is to be justice. This is no easy task. Though Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadžić were tried and imprisoned for genocide, they are still treated as heroes in the Republika Srpska.
Revisionist movements and genocide deniers still try to downplay Srebrenica. In 2019, the Serb member of the tripartite presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, described the massacre as a “fabricated myth.” The President of Republika Srpska, Željka Cvijanović, described the murder of Bosniaks as retaliation for “war crimes against Serbs”.
Though these statements are intolerable, it is rather simplistic to view the narrative of the Bosnian conflict through one lens. The track record of other regional players during the entire conflict remains, by and large, under-examined. The role of Bosnian President Alija Izetbegović and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman during the crisis is shrouded in considerable revisionism. Thus, truth and justice in the Balkans remain somewhat elusive.
The second speech which is striking is that delivered by the Prince of Wales. In a pre-recorded statement, the Prince of Wales described the Srebrenica genocide as “a dreadful stain on our collective conscience”.
He adds: “The international community failed those who were killed, those who somehow survived and those who endure the terrible loss of their loved ones. By remembering the pain of the past and learning its lessons, we can together resolve that it must never happen again.”
This statement is vital in that it recognises the role of the international community in preventing genocide and ethnic cleansing. Unfortunately, such failures still take place and the international community often seems unable – or unwilling – to do anything to call out and combat situations of genocide.
The same theme was taken up by Pope Francis in a message read by the Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina Luigi Pezzuto. In his letter, the Pope also called for “dialogue, understanding and respect for others”.
This plea touched upon an issue which was ignored in July 1995 – that of common humanity which should seek to build the common good based on respect for rights and human dignity. In addition to truth, justice and reconciliation, there needs to be recognition of the “fundamental values of human communities”.
It is only through such commitments that productive dialogue and a more secure future can be constructed. The alternative to this is an ever-increasing impasse which allows for barbarism and the “fanatical cries of hatred” to thrive.
André DeBattista, independent researcher in politics