Exactly 29 years ago to the day, on July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb army units conquered the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica and the UN protection zone of Potočari. Its capture marked the beginning of an unprecedented massacre and targeted terror by the Christian Orthodox Serbian armed forces against the Bosnian Muslim civilian population.
It is July 2, 1995, when Milenko Živanović, General of the Bosnian Serb Army, signs two orders in which he explains the plan of attack on Srebrenica and orders units of the Drina Corps to be put on combat readiness. At that time, there were around 42,000 civilians living in Srebrenica and the surrounding area, 36,000 of whom were refugees who had to endure catastrophic conditions. The attack by Bosnian Serb army units on the enclave of Srebrenica began at 3 a.m. on July 6. During the advance on Srebrenica, villages and the homes of Bosnian Muslims were set on fire and thousands of civilians were forced to flee to the UN base in Potočari, where Dutch UN blue helmets were stationed.
Its commander requests air support from the UN General Staff in Sarajevo, as a refugee camp and UN blue helmet posts had previously been shelled. Air support failed to materialize, as did the protection of the completely helpless Bosnian Muslim civilian population by UN blue helmets. Serbian artillery shelled the encircled Srebrenica, whereupon the civilian population tried to flee to Potočari, where the UN base was located.
What was officially referred to as evacuation was in reality transportation to death
The UN Security Council had previously declared Srebrenica a “security zone” under the protection of the United Nations. The UN Security Council’s statement sounded like a mockery to the refugees, because the commander of the Bosnian Serb army, Ratko Mladic, bluntly dictated to the United Nations and the Dutch UN battalion commander Karremans what tasks the UN blue helmet soldiers had to carry out. What was officially called the evacuation of the Bosnian Muslim civilian population from Srebrenica was in reality a selection for transportation to death and the surrender of the UN battalion to the Serbian firing squads. The UN base in Potočari, which was completely overcrowded, was the scene of torture, beatings, rapes and killings by soldiers of the Bosnian Serb army.
The Bosniak men were handcuffed, taken away and later executed
Before being transported by bus and truck, Bosnian Muslim men and boys aged between 13 and 78 were separated from their wives and children and taken to Bratunac. Bosniaks who tried to escape the murderers were either shot immediately or had their hands tied, taken away and later executed. Many of the later victims were executed by Serbian firing squads in sports halls and factories, meadows and forests between July 12 and 15, 1995. Within a week, the Serbian aggressors in Srebrenica deported around 25,000 women and children and killed over 8,000 Bosniak men. According to the Srebrenica Memorial, 8,372 victims have been identified so far.
It can be assumed that the number of victims killed is unreported. In order to conceal the extent of the mass killings, numerous trenches were dug again and buried in distant areas. Investigations into the massacres had revealed that the perpetrators had systematically planned the mass murder at various locations. A few days ago, the mortal remains of 30 Bosnian Muslims killed in Srebrenica were brought to Potočari with great sympathy from the population; they are to be buried on July 11, the day of remembrance of the Srebrenica genocide. The “Marš mira” peace march took place again this year in memory of the victims, with around 6,000 people from many countries taking part, according to the organizers. The participants follow the path along which thousands of Bosniaks were killed 29 years ago.
The political elites in the Serbian part of Bosnia and in Serbia deny the genocide of Srebrenica to this day
Although the genocide of Srebrenica is well documented and there is overwhelming evidence of the mass murder of the Bosnian Muslim population, international criminal courts have recognized it as genocide, and those responsible for the violent crimes against Bosnian Muslims have been finally convicted by the International Criminal Court, this crime is played down and not recognized as such by the political representatives of the Bosnian Serbs and in Serbia itself. This attitude also has an impact on schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina. While the genocide of Srebrenica is part of the curriculum in the Muslim part of Bosnia, the attitude of refusal continues in the Republika Srpska. The Srebrenica genocide is considered the largest massacre in Europe since the end of the Second World War. In Turkish and Azerbaijani historiography, the term technicus Mezalim has become established for mass violent crimes against the Muslim civilian population.
Photo: Srebrenica memorial site
Source: Magdalena on Unsplash