by Marlise Simons
THE HAGUE - To carry out the most notorious massacre of the Bosnian war, the
organizers devised an elaborate ruse. They stole the blue helmets and white
vehicles of United Nations peacekeepers so they could trick and capture
their victims. They blocked access roads to keep away outsiders like Red
Cross workers and journalists.
On July 11, 1995, as gunshots rang in the night, the Bosnian Serb military
leader, Gen. Ratko Mladic, met in a local hotel with a man summoned to speak
for the frightened people in the mountain town of Srebrenica. "I guarantee
that all those who surrender their weapons will live," the general said. "I
need a clear answer so I can decide both as a man and as a commander."
But the next morning, a five-day killing frenzy began. By the time it was
over, the Bosnian Serb Army and police forces had systematically tracked
down and executed close to 8,000 boys and men.
General Mladic and the Bosnian Serb political leader, Radovan Karadzic, who
were indicted as the main architects of Europe's worst massacre since World
War II, have evaded capture. . . .
FULL TEXT
VIDEO Narrated by Bill Moyers: "SREBRENICA: A CRY FROM THE
GRAVE," WNET New York
Anthony Loyd, "Bosnia Ethnic Cleansing
to Go Unpunished," Times (UK), November 15, 2003
"BOYLE SAYS RS IS GENOCIDAL PRODUCT AND SHOULD BE ABOLISHED," ONASA News
Agency, July 9, 2005
Edward P. Joseph, "Bystanders To a Massacre: How the U.N. Failed
Srebrenica," Washington Post, July 10, 2005
Nicholas Wood, "More Prosecutions Likely to Stem From New Srebrenica
Report," New York Times, October 6, 2005
Paul Vallely, "Why
are Dutch soldiers being sued for the massacre at Srebrenica?,"
Independent, June 19, 2008
[In November 1995, when the final peace talks started in Dayton, Ohio, an
estimated number of 7000 boys and adult men from Srebrenica were reported
missing, while the photographs taken by a satellite revealed mass graves in
the area. But at no point, did the key Western capitals contemplate
returning Srebrenica to a pre-genocide status. Instead, they pressed the
Bosnian government to accept the "new reality". Gorazde remained eventually
in the Bosniak-Croat entity, while Srebrenica and Zepa were handed over to
the newly created Bosnian Serb entity. On the eve of the 13 anniversary of
the genocide, Srebrenica is still under the authority of many of those who
carried out those killings. Additionally, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic
- the Bosnian Serb political and military leaders who instigated, planned
and executed the Srebrenica genocide, in concert with Slobodan Milosevic's
Belgrade - are still free despite international arrest warrants issued by
the ICTY, which indicted both of them for genocide and crimes against
humanity in 1995. Srebrenica's genocide survivors are still fighting for
justice in many courts around the world and for the truth of their betrayal
by the international community to fully emerge.--Florence Hartmann, "JUSTICE DENIED: MEANDERS OF THE
BALKAN DIPLOMACY," European Courier, June 30, 2008]
[Defence lawyers for Radovan Karadzic today called on the Yugoslav war
crimes tribunal to drop all charges against the former Bosnian Serb leader
because of an alleged immunity deal with US peace envoy Richard
Holbrooke.--"Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic immune from prosecution,
claim lawyers," Associated Press, May 25, 2009]
[Radovan Karadzic threatened months before the start of the Bosnian war that
300,000 Muslims would die while the forces under his command turned
Sarajevo, into a "black cauldron".--Ian Traynor, "Karadzic predicted Muslim bloodbath, Bosnian war crimes trial
hears ," Guardian, October 27, 2009]
"Dutch state liable for 300 Srebrenica massacre deaths: Court at the
Hague says Dutch UN peacekeepers must compensate families of Bosnian Muslim men turned
over to Serb forces 19 years ago," Guardian, July 16, 2014
"Karadzic faces Bosnia war
crimes verdict in The Hague," bbc.com, March 24, 2016
Tim Hume, "Radovan
Karadzic found guilty of genocide, sentenced to 40 years," cnn.com, March 24, 2016
"Ratko Mladic jailed for life
over Bosnia war genocide," bbc.com, November 22, 2017