The Srebrenica Genocide (1995)

When we say the word 'genocide' the phrase that usually follows is 'the Holocaust.' A genocide is defined as the "systematic elimination of all or a significant part of a racial, ethnic, religious or national group." And it is perhaps fair to say that the Western World has done well to educate the generations that have followed about the Holocaust. However other acts of genocide should not be forgotten, for instance the Srebrenica Genocide.

The Srebrenica Genocide was the systematic killing of mostly male Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) in July 1995 during the Bosnian Civil War. Estimates suggest that between 7,000 and 8,000 Bosniaks were killed.

After the Second World War a number of Balkan States such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia were brought together to be a part of the Republic of Yugoslavia. However soon after there was rising nationalist tension and ethnic conflict. The war was essentially between the Bosnians that wished for independence and those that didn't - Bosnian Serbs - who found support from Serbia. The civil war resulted in the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the independence of Bosnia. It is often the topic of debate as to whether the Bosnian Civil War actually classifies as a civil war, perhaps due to the inclusion and actions taken by Serbia.

The Srebrenica Genocide was only a part of the number of mass killings by Bosnian Serbs during the civil war. Srebrenica is a small city in the mountains of Bosnia.

Although earlier marked as a 'safe city' by the UN in the early stages of the Bosnian Civil War, Bosnian-Serb forces entered Srebrenica in June 1995. The mass killings soon followed. The male Bosniaks (male Muslim Bosnians) were systematically separated from the female women and children and led to their deaths. Hundreds were massacred is school gymnasiums and the worst massacre would occur at a football field near Nova Kasaba.

According to an eyewitness of the massacre the Serbian forces "picked out Muslims" and would just "line them up and shoot them into pits."(1) It was only until 2004 that Serbian officials acknowledged  that their forces had carried out the mass killings and also that the operation, to capture Bosnian Muslim men, was a planned and well thought out operation.

The Srebrenica Genocide and Massacre was one of the most horrendous since the times of the Second World War.

The mass graves of these Muslim male Bosniaks would only be found through a long-hard process and with the help of international assistance, such as US intelligence experts and the use of satellite photography. Bodies and mass graves are still continually found today.

Srebrenica Massacre Memorial Wall

Recently, partial blame of the Srebrenica Genocide has been shifted to the UN, who mistakenly identified Srebrenica as a safe place under their protection. However, although it is vital to bring those responsible to justice, it is of equal importance to remember the lives lost during this genocide and any other genocide that has plagued human history. Britain has recently called for July 11 to be marked as a memorial day for the victims of the Srebrenica Genocide. And as this day fast approaches, we should all try and remember not just the victims of the Srebrenica Massacre, but the victims of all genocides. The victims of the Holocaust, the Cambodian genocide, the Rwandan genocide, and numerous others that fill a long list. The victims of hatred, war and contrasting ideologies.



(1) Quote found in Mark Danner, "The Killing Fields of Bosnia", 1998

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