Srebrenica genocide: A lesson for the future
The July 1995 attack on the UN-declared "safe area" in Srebrenica by the Bosnian Serb forces is a reminder of the incalculable losses suffered by the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In that fateful month, Srebrenica experienced one of the worst massacres in history. The UN has rightly called it "the greatest atrocity on European soil since the Second World War." The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in The Hague, termed it as a genocide. The Balkan conflict officially ended in 1995 with the involvement of the international community, followed by the Dayton Peace Accord. The agreement stopped further bloodshed by the three warring parties, namely Bosniak (a Muslim ethnic group of BiH, not to be mistaken with Bosnian), Serb and Croat—but it could not establish durable and sustainable peace in the region. As I found out during my recent visit to BiH, the multi-ethnic society today remains deeply divided.
Srebrenica is a municipal town located in the eastern part of BiH. Between July 11-16, 1995, over 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were slaughtered in Srebrenica. In 1995, the total inhabitants of the town were around 30,000 of which 20,000 were Muslim Bosniaks. Today, some wonder why the massacre could not be prevented despite the town being a Muslim-majority one. To understand that, we need to know the circumstances under which the genocide took place.
Srebrenica is located in the easternmost part of present-day Republika Srpska, which is a Serb-dominated area and one of the constitutional and legal entities of BiH. During the Bosnian war, Srebrenica was considered a strategically important location which sparked conflicts over its territorial control between the Serbs and the Bosniaks, following the declaration of independence of BiH from Yugoslavia. The Bosnian Serbs were ethnically more homogeneous. Due to the superior military might of bordering Serbia, the Bosnian Serbs gradually gained control of Srebrenica and other bordering areas. Despite being a Muslim-dominant area, the demography of Srebrenica had significantly changed during and after the war. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), the percentage of Muslims in Srebrenica dropped from 60 percent before the war to just one percent in 1997. In the same period, Serb population swelled from 23 percent to 89 percent of the total. Although Muslims in Srebrenica, during the war, put up an initial resistance but that collapsed to the siege of Serb military and para-military forces.
In one of the last acts of the 42-month Bosnian War, the Serb forces announced that they would only end seizure on Srebrenica if the residents would surrender their weapons to the UN. After that, most of the weapons had been placed under the custody of the UN troops. Later, as per a UN Security Council resolution, Srebrenica was declared a "safe area". However, Serb forces claimed to have been attacked by what remained of the arms and ammunition. The serving UN officials also admitted isolated attacks which they said were carried out to obtain food from the Bosnian Serbs. But under the pretext of preventing "terrorist" attacks, the Serbs launched an attack on Srebrenica in the first week of July 1995. By then, the Bosnian Muslim forces were mostly disarmed. The Dutch battalion, which had been the only UN force assigned to protect the civilians at Srebrenica, was poorly equipped in terms of both combatant and fighting capability. The Dutch base, in Potočari (a village about 6 km northwest of Srebrenica), was also inadequately guarded since the Serbs had, in the previous months, posed restriction on their logistic and military reinforcement. The commander of the Dutch battalion requested the UN Headquarters in Sarajevo for "close air support". This request was initially denied. A subsequent request for NATO air support was granted but it suffered delay owing to a bureaucratic status quo. The Serbs seized the opportunity to occupy Srebrenica, and then surrounded the Dutch military base at Potočari. On July 11, Serb troops entered Srebrenica.
The following developments are well-known to the world. The Bosnian Serb forces proceeded to separate all Bosnian Muslim "military-aged" men from the women. Buses were arranged to transport the women and children from Srebrenica. The men were purportedly to be taken away for "interrogation". In the following few days, more than 8,000 men between the ages of 12 and 77 were killed by the Serb military and para-military forces under the command of General Ratko Mladić. Beside the mass killings, the Serbs also conducted sexual exploitation, forced expulsion and other forms of violence. During my visit to the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial at Potočari, I saw graves where three generations (grandfather, father and son) of the same family lie buried. The Dutch military base nearby still bears the sign of the inhuman sufferings caused by the brutalities of the conflict.
The genocide in Srebrenica is not an isolated event but one that speaks of the overall story of aggression on BiH. Although the international community condemned this heinous massacre, they have done little to prevent or stop such crimes from taking place in other places. Even today, the perpetrators are glorified in some parts of BiH, and some still deny that the genocide had ever occurred. The state relation between Croatia, Serbia and BiH is strained. Even within BiH, people are deeply divided on ethnicity-related issues. The role of different ethnic groups during the Bosnian War has created further tension among them, which persisted through suppressed hatred and grievances.
As we commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide this month, more than anything, we must make a commitment to learn from the lessons of this unfortunate event which shows us how horrific the consequences of hatred and intolerance can be. It's a lesson for our current and future generations.
Lieutenant Colonel Kamrul Hassan is course member, AFWC, NDC.
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