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PUBLISHERS: Institute for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law of the Sarajevo University University of Sarajevo University of Tuzla Institute of history of the Sarajevo UniversityFOR PUBLISHERS: Prof. dr. Rasim Muratović Prof. dr. Rifat Škrijelj Prof. dr. Nermina Hadžigrahić Dr. Sedad BešlijaUREDNIK: Dr. Sabina Subašić - GalijatovićTRANSLATE: Samir Kulaglić Mr. Haris Suljović Mr. Lamija MuftićDTP: Mr. dipl. ing. Sead MuhićCOVER PAGE: Mr. dipl. ing. Sead MuhićPRINT HOUSE: Fojnica d.o.o.EDITION: 150-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CIP - Katalogizacija u publikaciji
Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka
Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo
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PROCEEDINGS
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE
GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS,
SREBRENICA 1995-2020:Causes, extent and consequences
Sarajevo, 19 October 2020.
Sarajevo, 2020.
CONTENTS:
ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE ......................................15
WORD BEFORE .....................................................................................17
ABSTRACTS:
PANEL I
HHISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE ROOTS OF EVIL IN THE BALKANS - CONTINUITY OF CRIMES AGAINST BOSNIAKS. SREBRENICA, THE PARADIGM OF GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA
AND HERZEGOVINA
Presiding Committee: Adib Đozić and Rasim Muratović
Rusmir Mahmutćehajić, ANTI-BOSNIAN IDEOLOGY AND GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA ...........................................................................21
Husnija Kamberović, SREBRENICA - BETWEEN MEMORY AND CRITICAL HISTORIOGRAPHY ...............................................................22
Šaćir Filandra, WAR AND THE NEW POLITICS OF IDENTITY ...........23
Hilmo Neimarlija, ACTIVITIES OF THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY IN DETECTING, PREVENTING AND ALLEVIATING THE CONSEQUENCES OF GENOCIDE ................................................24
Dželal Ibraković, SREBRENICA: A SYMBOLIC ICON OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS ..........................................................26
Selman Selhanović, THE CAUSES OF GENOCIDE LIE IN THE MIND OF IDEOLOGUES (EXEMPTING IDEOLOGY FROM CONVICTION CONTINUES THE POLITICS OF GENOCIDE)..............28
Sakib Softić, CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS IN EASTERN BOSNIA WITH EMPHASIS ON THE “SAFE AREA” SREBRENICA .........................................................30
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Keith Doubt, A REFLECTION ON THE SURVIVAL OF FAHRUDIN MEMINOVIĆ ........................................................................32
Adib Đozić, MOTHER AND CHILD IN THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS ..........................................................34
Srdjan Vukadinović, POSTTRAUMATIC AND DEHUMANIZIG DIMENSION OF SREBRENICA PAIN .....................................................35
Arne Johan Vetlesen, PORTRAYING MURDER AS “GOOD” .................37
Hamza Karčić, HOW HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS SUPPORTED BIH ....................................................................................38
PANEL II
CRIMES COMMITTED IN THE UN SAFE ZONE SREBRENICA. NEGATIONISM - THE LAST PHASE OF GENOCIDE
Presiding Committee: Zijad Šehić and Sedad Bešlija
Sead Turčalo, (GEO)POLICY OF DENYING THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE ......................................................................41
Mirko Pejanović, SREBRENICA- A UNIVERSAL FOR COMMEMORATING THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE ...............................42
Zijad Šehić, PERCEPTIONS OF THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE .........................................................................44
Fahira Fejzić Čengić, HOW TO PROCEED AFTER 25 YEARS OF GENOCIDE? ......................................................................................46
Esad Bajtal, THE CYNICISM OF GENOCIDE DENIAL: WE WILL DO AS WE INTENDED, WE WILL DENY EVERYTHING WE DID ........47
Muamer Džananović, TO FORGET EVIL - THE WAY FOR RECONCILIATION OR ONE OF THE SPECIFIC WAYS OF DENIAL OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS .....................................48
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Hikmet Karačić, GENOCIDE DENIAL STRATEGY: FROM MARKALE TO SREBRENICA ...................................................................51
Zilha Mastalić Košuta, SARAJEVO, MOSTAR, SREBRENICA – EXAMPLES OF CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN IN THE REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ..........................................................52
Alma Hajrić – Čaušević, Almir Grabovica, GENOCIDE ACTS AGAINST SREBRENICA BOSNIAKS, JULY 1995. ..................................54
Ivana Žanić, RESPONSIBILITY OF SERBIA FOR SREBRENICA GENOCIDE, CASE STUDY - DEPORTATION OF REFUGEES FROM SREBRENICA ...............................................................................56
Denis Bećirović, SERBIA’S POLICY OF VIOLATING INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DENYING COURT VERDICTS FOR GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS (2007-2020) ..............................58
Avdo Huseinović, SPECIAL FORCES CORPS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE SERBIAN STATE SECURITY SERVICE ROLE IN THE AGGRESSION ON R BIH, WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON CENTRAL PODRINJE ..............................61
Mujo Begić, PLANNING AND USE OF BANNED CHEMICAL-BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS - THE CASE OF UN PROTECTED ZONES OF SREBRENICA AND BIHAĆ ..................................................62
Elvedin Mulagić, GENOCIDE DENIAL AND POST-GENOCIDAL PROCESSES IN RUANDA AND BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ...........63
Emrah Đozić, RELIGIOUS LIFE IN SREBRENICA AND ŽEPA DURING THE AGGRESSION 1992-1995 ................................................65
Alen Borić, GENOCIDE IN SREBRENICA AND ITS (MISS)USE IN THE SPORT LIFE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND ITS SURROUNDINGS .....................................................................................66
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PANEL III
GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS IN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE
Presiding Committee: Alija Kožljak i Hasan Nuhanović
Alija Kožljak, UN SECURITY COUNCIL STANCES AND DECISIONS REGARDING SREBRENICA GENOCIDE ..........................69
Caroline Fournet, GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: THE INPUT OF THE ICTY 25 YEARS AFTER SREBRENICA ................71
Zijad Hasić, PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS AND CIVILIAN POPULATIONS IN ARMED CONFLICT – WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON THEIR PROTECTION IN SREBRENICA IN 1995. ............................73
Sadmir Karović, Suad Orlić, Damir Bilić, DESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIME OF GENOCIDE ..............75
Zijad Bećirović, SREBRENICA GENOCIDE 1995-2000 - INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND LAW .................................................77
Vahid Karavelić, TERRORISM AND GENOCIDE .................................79
Enis Omerović, Amila Husić, THE ROLE OF GENDER IN GENOCIDE ...............................................................................................80
Meldijana Arnaut Haseljić, Alma Hajrić-Čaušević, RADOVAN KARADŽIĆ – RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE GENOCIDE IN UN SAFE ZONE SREBRENICA, JULY 1995. .................................................82
Meldijana Arnaut Haseljić, Halisa Čengić Mešić, GENOCIDE VERDICT AGAINST RADISLAV KRSTIĆ, COMMANDER OF THE DRINA CORPS ..........................................................................................85
Džemal Najetović, SREBRENICA, A SHATTERED MIRROR OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (International involvement and liability for genocide in Srebrenica) .......88
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Merisa Karović Babić, UNPROFOR IN SREBRENICA, A SAFE AND DEMILITARIZED ZONE OF THE UNITED NATIONS – UNPROFOR troop regrouping initiatives – ...........................................89
Hasan Nuhanović, INTERPRETATION OF UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 819 AND RESOLUTION 1004 IN RELATION TO THE SITUATION IN AND AROUND SREBRENICA AT THE TIME OF THEIR ADOPTION” ..........................91
Hoda Dedić, CRIME OF GENOCIDE IN SREBRENICA IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTIONS AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTS ..........................................................92
Nevenka Tromp, MISJUDGING HISTORY: AN ANLALYSIS OF THE ICTY GENOCIDE JUDGMENTS ....................................................94
Suad Kurtćehajić, GENOCIDE IN SREBRENICA AND LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE INSTITUTIONS OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA ....................................................................................................96
Enis Omerović, DESTRUCTION OF RELIGIOUS SITES AS A WAR CRIME OR AS EVIDENCE OF GENOCIDAL INTENT? .........................97
Omer Merzić, BRITISH REPORTING ON THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE ...............................................................................................99
Sabina Veladžić, WOMEN IN DISCOURSE AND WOMEN’S DISCOURSE IN BOSNIAK-MUSLIM RELIGIOUS AND ETHNOCULTURAL MEDIA PLATFORMS PREPOROD, MUSLIMANSKI GLAS AND LJILJAN 1989-1995 ............................100
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PANEL IV
SOCIO-POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS
Presiding Committee: Faik Uzunović and Fikret Bečirović
Omer Ibrahimagić, THREE MESSAGES OF SREBRENICA ...............105
Rasim Muratović, Ermin Kuka, PAIN- THE CENTRAL PHENOMENON OF HUMAN EXISTENCE ...........................................106
Emir Ramić, AN OVERVIEW OF THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE CULTURE OF MEMORY .........................................................108
Faik Uzunović, Zakira Mulaomerović, AN ATTEMPT TO DESCRIBE EXAMPLES, ROLES AND DUTIES OF BH DIPLOMACY IN RELATION TO THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE ......109
Fikret Bečirović, THE EXTENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE DEVASTATED DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE BOSNIAN PODRINJE ............................................................................110
Jasmin Medić, DEMOGRAPHIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST BOSNIAKS IN BOSNIAN KRAJINA IN 1992-1995 ...........................................................................111
Faruk Đozić, PRINCIPLES OF CONSTITUTIVE EFFECT AND PUBLIC TRUST IN THE PROCESS OF CONSTITUTING THE CADASTER OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA ..................................................112
Esad Džudžo, BOSNIAKCIDE / GENOCIDE OF BOSNIAKS/ CONSEQUENCES IN SANDŽAK ...........................................................113
Élisabeth Anstett, SREBRENICA AT THE HEART OF THE “FORENSIC TURN”. COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF 25 YEARS OF RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF GENOCIDE STUDIES.....114
Omer Gabela, Edin Malkić, CONTINUITY OF DEPENDENCE OF SCIENTIFIC THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR SUCCESSFUL GENOCIDE RESEARCH IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA................116
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Mirsad Cvrk, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THEIR VIOLATION IN BIH - THE CASE OF SREBRENICA .................................................118
Ermin Kuka, Hamza Memišević, GETOIZATION OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS - IN THE CONTEXT OF TIME AND SPACE .....119
Medina Adanalić, SUICIDAL POST GENOCIDE .................................120
Mensur Pavica, A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH TO CAUSES, EXTENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS – SREBRENICA 1995-2020. ...............................122
Amila Svraka-Imamović, GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS AS A FORM OF STRUGGLE AGAINST “ISLAMIC RADICALISM” .............124
Lamija Muftić, POST-CONFLICT MEMORIALIZATION: LESSONS FROM THE MEMORIAL CENTER POTOČARI ...................125
Jasmina Zagorica, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE ....................................................................126
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CONFERENCE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: prof. dr. Rifat Škrijelj, rektor Univerziteta u Sarajevu, i prof. dr. Nermina Hadžigrahić, rektorica Univerziteta u Tuzli – presidents. Acacemik Mirko Pejanović, prof. dr. Rasim Muratović, Ph.D Sedad Bešlija - vice presidents, Mario Nenadić, Anis Krivić, Hajrudin Grabovica, Fahreta Brašnjić, Amir Kulaglić, prof. dr. Adib Đozić, Amir Ahmić, prof. dr. Zijad Hasić, Hilmo Neimarlija, prof. dr. Faik Uzunović, dr. Hamza Karčić, dr. Sabina Subašić-Galijatović, prof. dr. Zijad Šehić - members.
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE OF THE CONFERENCE: academic, prof. dr. Mirko Pejanović - president, prof. dr. Rasim Muratović – vice president, Ph.D. Sedad Bešlija i prof. dr. Adib Đozić – vice president. Ph.D. Esad Bajtal, prof. dr. Zijad Bećirović, prof. dr. Keith Doubt, prof. dr. Fahira Fejzić – Čengić, akademik, prof. dr. Omer Ibrahimagić, prof. dr. Husnija Kamberović, dr. Hamza Karčić, prof. dr. Alija Kožljak, mr. Jasmin Medić, prof. dr. Džemal Najetović, M.A. Hasan Nuhanović, mr. Edin Omerčić, Ernest Petrič, prof. dr. Sakib Softić, dr. Igor Šoltes, prof. dr. Srđan Vukadinović, prof. dr. Arne Johan Vetlesen – members.
EDITORIAL BOARD: prof. dr. Rasim Muratović – president, PhD. Sedad Bešlija i Ph.D. Esad Bajtal – vice president, dr. Meldijana Arnaut Haseljić, dr. Merisa Karović-Babić, dr. Safet Bandžović, dr. Muamer Džananović, prof. dr. Fikret Bečirović, Hoda Dedić, prof. dr. Zijad Hasić, dr. Amir Kliko, prof. dr. Spahija Kozlić, dr. Zilha Košuta, doc. dr. Ermin Kuka, prof. dr. Džemal Najetović, prof. dr. Sakib Softić, dr. Sabahudin Šarić, prof. dr. Zijad Šehić, Ivana Žanić.
Secretary General of the Conference: M.A. Ilvana Čengić
Translations of texts: Samir Kulaglić, M.A. Lamija Muftić, M.A. Haris Suljović
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ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE
On the occasion of marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the genocide committed against the Bosniaks of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was confirmed by the ICTY court rulings for the area of the so-called United Nations Safe Zone Srebrenica and its surroundings (July 1995), the University of Sarajevo, the University of Tuzla, the Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law of the University of Sarajevo and the Institute for History of the University of Sarajevo are organizing the International Scientific Conference:
GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS, SREBRENICA 1995-2020:
Causes, extent and consequences
Twenty-five years after the genocide committed against Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which culminated in the events in and around Srebrenica, in the territory of the so-called UN safe zones, in July 1995, the consequences of the crime of genocide among the surviving victims are evident, manifesting themselves in essential aspects of human and social existence, individual and social life. The war against Bosnian society and the state in 1992-1995, in addition to the genocide against Bosniaks, also resulted in the destruction of the social, historical, political, cultural and spiritual system of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Traces of crime can be clearly identified in various forms of manifestation, from genocide denial, portraying criminals as heroes, to discovering and identifying bodies of victims from mass graves, social marginalization and discrimination of returnees and survivors, and insufficiently effective and inefficient prosecution and judiciary. Although the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the armed conflict and established peace, unfortunately, the Agreement verified factual, social, political, national and ethnic contradictions, and thus became a generator of ample current and long-term problems. The
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committed crime of genocide and other forms of crimes against humanity and international law have contributed to the formation and consolidation of mistrust, an important obstacle to the renewal and development of Bosnian society and the state.
The international conference of interdisciplinary character is an opportunity to gather in one place renowned scientists and researchers from various scientific disciplines who will critically study historical, demographic, social, psychological, cultural, moral, political and economic causes, extent and consequences of genocide committed against Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Twenty-five years have passed since July 1995 in Srebrenica. Numerous questions are still waiting to be answered! After twenty-five years, are we aware of what happened to us and what is happening to us? Do we have the strength to think in a post-genocidal existence? What are our memories today, twenty-five years after the genocidal end of the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Could social projects be initiated based on which Srebrenica, within its special development status, would achieve economic-social, demographic and cultural revitalization.
This conference, which will be attended by over sixty scientists and researchers from twelve countries, among other things, is an opportunity to exchange experiences on genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, its causes, extent and consequences, and this implies the responsibility of scientists and the entire intellectual public. We have yet to start thinking about Srebrenica! When we think of Srebrenica, then we think of Bosnia! When we think of Bosnia, we think of humanity. The question of genocide is, in fact, a question applicable to the entire mankind!
ORGANIZING BOARD
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WORD BEFORE
We present to the scientific professional public the Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference: “GENOCIDE ON BOSNIAKS, SREBRENICA 1995-2020: Causes, Scope and Consequences”. As these abstracts and as the scientific relevance and proof of the difficult ques-tion, ie phenomenon, is done with complete concretization, it is the po-sition of the Scientific Committee of the Conference that a certain way of setting theses and proving their validity is the subject of the authors - participants of the Conference. scientific profiling and reputation.
On this occasion, we would like to thank the daily newspaper “Oslo-bodjenje”, which decided to perform daily summaries in the form of feu-illetons, starting from 9 September 2020.
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PANEL I
HHISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE ROOTS OF EVIL IN THE BALKANS - CONTINUITY OF
CRIMES AGAINST BOSNIAKS. SREBRENICA, THE PARADIGM OF GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA
Presiding Committee: Adib Đozić
Rasim Muratović
Prof. dr. Rusmir Mahmutćehajić1
ANTI-BOSNIAN IDEOLOGY AND GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA
Abstract:
Genocide is a term of international law, the phenomenon which marked it is very old, but the use of this term is modern and conse-quently belongs to the category of plastic words and modular speech. Its predominant uses today often translate it into a means of obscuring the phenomenon itself. There is not and cannot be a phenomenon to which the notion of genocide corresponds if four conditions are not met - the elite that conceives, orders and pursues it; an ideology that encompass-es both the elite and all involved in its initiation and execution; large organizations (most often states) that enable the action of the elite and the sacralization of genocidal ideology; and a sufficient number of direct perpetrators of crimes loyal to the criminal elite, imbued with criminal ideology and involved in criminal organizations. In the case of genocide in Bosnia, following court rulings on it, it is possible to speak more re-liably about the first, second and fourth conditions for committing gen-ocide. But the genocidal ideology, which, as the author believes, is jus-tified to identify as anti-Bosnian, still remains scientifically unexplained and therefore present in the policies and cultures of public space and Bosnia, and neighboring countries and the world. The paper presents the main contents of possible research approaches to the ideology of anti - Bosnianism.
1 Prof. dr. Rusmir Mahmutćehajić, International forum Bosna
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Prof. dr. Husnija Kamberović1
SREBRENICA - BETWEEN MEMORY AND CRITICAL HISTORIOGRAPHY
Abstract:
In this paper, I will analyze various memories left about the events in Srebrenica by various participants, and compare them with the results of critical historiography. I will make a certain systematization of written memories (some are direct propaganda and represent attempts to build a better past, some are very objective, but limited by the fact that they are memories that take into account only certain facts, and some are a com-bination of memories and subsequent research), and I will also analyze these memories and try to see from this perspective how the writers of the memoirs described the situation in Srebrenica that preceded the July 1995 genocide.
1 Prof. dr. Husnija Kamberović, professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sara-jevo.
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Prof. dr. Šaćir Filandra1,
WAR AND THE NEW POLITICS OF IDENTITY
Abstract:
In the last war against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as a result of the overall social and political transition, new identity policies were established within all the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the war, Bosniak elites did not have a designed and systematically implemented identity policy, but identity expressions and forms were largely spontaneous and contextual. This paper deals with only two segments of the new Bosniak cultural identity policy, namely the use of the term “martyr” and the phrase “victim ideology”, primarily from the aspect of their attitude towards the political identity of Bosniaks.
1 Prof. dr. Šaćir Filandra, Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo
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Hilmo Neimarlija1
ACTIVITIES OF THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY IN DETECTING AND PREVENTING THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE
IN MITIGATING ITS CONSEQUENCES
Abstract:
The paper outlines the activities of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to prevent genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica and surrounding areas and to mitigate its consequences. The basic determi-nant of the activity was established in the principle attitude of the Islamic Community towards the crimes of the Army of the self-proclaimed Ser-bian Republic against Bosniaks as planned and systematically managed criminal actions. Crimes from the beginning included killing, torture, rape and persecution, which were often committed in a startlingly grue-some manner and on a scale not seen in Europe since the World War II, involving religious symbols and elements of the Orthodox religious identity, imams and mosques as the first targets of crime and devasta-tion. However, the Islamic Community has never expressed an official attitude towards the crimes of the Bosnian Serb Army as uncontrolled expressions of religious and ethnic hatred, nor has it accepted the charac-terization of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a religious, ethnic or civil war. Despite severe external challenges and internal pressures, there has been no official demand for revenge or retaliation in the Islam-ic Community. Instead, at the time of the crime, important activities of the Islamic Community were in demand for justice and prevention of crimes and preventing the creators and implementers of a rational policy of committing them as a precisely defined part of the strategic plan to create an “ethnically pure” Greater Serbia. After the end of the war, these activities, which are still taking place today, are a sign of dignified and humanitarian mitigation of the consequences of crimes against Bosniaks in general and the crime of genocide in particular.
1 Hilmo Neimarlija, Faculty of Islamic Sciences, University of Sarajevo.
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The indication of activities to expose and prevent the crimes of the Army of the self-proclaimed Serb Republic against Bosniaks emphasizes the genocidal character of crimes against Bosniaks in Podrinje in the sec-ond half of 1992 and the first months of 1993 as an extremely important international warning of preparations for crimes committed in the sum-mer of 1995. In March 1993, the Riyaset of the Islamic Community and reis-l-ulema Jakub Effendi Selimoski issued a letter to the institutions of the international community with a request to prevent the crime of genocide in Srebrenica and neighboring places. In allocating activities to mitigate the consequences of genocide, the primary importance is given to the dignified fulfillment of the debt of the killed victims of genocide in accordance with the Islamic tradition and the feelings of their relatives. The acts of the Parliament and the Riyaset of the Islamic Community in the normative religious definition of that relationship and the contribu-tion of the leading figures of the Islamic Community in the establishment of the martyr’s grave and the realization of the joint funeral of the slain were highlighted. The paper points out the most important forms of as-sistance to genocide survivors and returnees to Srebrenica and surround-ing areas.
Keywords: Islamic community, Bosniaks, genocide, crime policy, justice, dignity, debt to victims
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Prof. dr. Dželal Ibraković1
SREBRENICA: A SYMBOLIC ICON OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS
Abstract:
We can agree with Rusmir Mahmutčehajić that the barbaric campaign of the two expansionist regimes that created Greater Serbia and Greater Croatia with fire and sword is being completed and completed in Sre-brenica. Srebrenica is the hub of the map and network of crimes against Bosniaks, both before and after the adoption of the definition of what genocide in the United Nations in 1948. The very idea, which has its many variations of the attitude towards Bosnia and Bosniaks as other and undesirable (Turks who are and are not), is on the Serbia-Croatia relationship found inspiration in the classical fascist time in which the Cvetković-Maček agreement was created. From the statements of Moša Pijada, and even Edvard Kardelj that Muslims are a religious group, not a nation, and this was clearly and decisively stated in 1993 when the As-sembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded: “that Muslims are a communist creation and represent a religious group of Turkish orientation ... We do not accept that artificial nation. We believe that Muslims are a sect, a group, of Turkish orientation ... ”
The pattern of ‘liberators’, ‘winners’, ‘anti-fascists’ was established and included in the manuals used in practice in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992-1995, and refer to class, racial, religious, ideological and any other opponent, which ‘someone’ so marked, and according to the ‘revolutionary’ principle, all means from the arsenal of Lenin’s ‘revolutionary terror’ or Stalin’s purges are allowed, or Hitler’s gas chambers and concentration camps, Manjača, Srebrenica, whatever you name it.
1 Prof. dr. Dželal Ibraković, full time professor, Faculty of Political Science, Univer-sity of Sarajevo.
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This kind of dehumanization of the most numerous people in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place with the same racist rhetoric that can be heard 25 years later. That rhetoric was only in line with global trends at the time. That is why the consideration of genocide as a horrible crime must turn in the direction of its treatment as a political ideology and program. Republika Srpska is proving to be the guardian of the complete genocide that was being prepared to create another ‘Serbian state’ in the territory of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and this is being said clearly and loudly more and more often. Unfortunately, both (ideology and program of genocide) continue.
Keywords: Genocide, ideology, Bosniaks, Srebrenica, paradigm, others and different.
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Dr. Selman Selhanović1
THE CAUSES OF GENOCIDE LIE IN THE MIND OF IDEOLOGUES (EXEMPTING IDEOLOGY FROM
CONVICTION CONTINUES THE POLITICS OF GENOCIDE)
Abstract:
The causes of genocide, of course, can be found in the nationalistic ideology and heads of those who projected hatred and conflicts, ultimate-ly turned into genocide as the greatest degree of social evil. We primarily emphasize in this paper the role of intellectuals who planned and encour-aged direct perpetrators by their actions. Their responsibility is thus even greater, because they know what they are doing. The perpetrators and/or their followers were less aware of it.
Basically, the basic intention of the ideologue was to belittle, dehu-manize and deny the identity of Bosniaks as a nation, and deny Bosnian individuality. Great-state ideas speak best of those and such intentions. This is confirmed, and the works of many intellectual and cultural work-ers as well as ecclesiastical dignitaries are cited for that purpose. Works of Petar Petrović Njegoš, Stojan Protić, Ivo Andrić, Matija Bečković, Milorad Ekmečić, Rajko Petrov Nogo and others point to that. It suffic-es only to analyze them and present the truth about them to the public, but also transfer them to the education system. Such works will for sure show the ways in which the aggression of one people over another was mentally carried out. Many documents and experts determined that ag-gressor’s goals were: to conquer territory, reduce the birth rate through ethnic cleansing, and disintegrate society reflected in the destruction of families, and due to the imminent killing of male population, the emer-gence of more single-parent families. The victims of this idea were Bos-niaks and Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state.
1 Dr. Selman Selhanović, Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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The intention of this paper and thus the general hypothesis is to shed light on the significance of ideas and the role of an ideology that prop-agates fascism and the ascension of one people, the heavenly one, over another. That idea was conceived in the minds of those who, unfortu-nately, remained outside the verdicts of the Hague Tribunal. They will be judged by humanity.
Keywords: Ideas, ideologues, social evil, criminals and doings, re-sponsibility
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Prof. dr. Sakib Softić1
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS IN EASTERN BOSNIA WITH EMPHASIS ON THE
“SAFE AREA” SREBRENICA
Abstract:
This article deals with the causes and outcomes of the genocide against Bosniacs in and around Srebrenica in July 1995. The author’s position is that during the entire period of aggression against the Republic of Bos-nia and Herzegovina in the period from 1992 – 1995, genocide against Bosniacs took place in the entire territory of the State. In its Judgment of 26 February 2007, the International Court of Justice ruled that acts of genocide (actus reus) had been committed against Bosniacs throughout the duration of the international armed conflict. The international armed conflict took place in its territory between the Yugoslav People’s Army on the one and the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other hand. But, Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to prove the ex-istence of genocidal intent (mens rea) only in and around Srebrenica in July 1995. In this paper, to the extent permitted by the nature and scope of the work, the author briefly explored and analyzed the historical con-text in which the genocide was committed, the geopolitical reasons for the Serbian aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the goals of the ag-gression on Bosnia and Herzegovina and the genocide against Bosniaks, situation on the battlefield 1995, peace plans and Bosniac enclaves in Eastern Bosnia, possible consent of the “international community” to the occupation of the enclaves by the Army of Republika Srpska in order to simplify the maps as a precondition for concluding a peace agreement, the Bosnian Serbs’ historical hatred against Bosniaks and their histori-cal experience of impunity for crimes committed against Bosniaks, as well as the belief that they were given a unique historical opportunity
1 Prof. dr. Sakib Softić, Faculty of Criminology, Criminology and Security Studies University of Sarajevo
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to realize their historical aspirations by genocide against Bosniaks: the elimination of non-Serbs and the annexation to the Serbian state of parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina territory east of the Drina River. Following this discussion, the consequences of committing genocide in and around Srebrenica are briefly presented and analyzed. The opinion of the author is that each of the mentioned factors was a precondition for genocide to happen and that all of them together, to a different extent, presented the cause of genocide. The consequence of committing genocide is the demographic collapse of Eastern Bosnia and Podrinje and a temporary change in the ethnic structure of the population in that area.
Keywords: geopolitical reasons for aggression, goals of aggression and genocide, peace plans, Bosniak enclaves in Eastern Bosnia, consent of the international community.
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Prof. dr. Keith Doubt1
A REFLECTION ON THE SURVIVAL OF FAHRUDIN MEMINOVIĆ
Organized by University of Sarajevo, University of Tuzla, University of Sarajevo for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law and Institute of History
Abstract:
It is difficult to understand the executioners of the genocide in Sre-brenica. What were they doing? Why were they doing it? What were they thinking? How could they have done what they did? In Srebrenica MC-MXCV [2017], Emir Suljagić recounts a testimony from an executioner told to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia af-ter a massacre near Srebrenica in July 1995:
From that pile, that heap of dead bodies that did not resemble hu-man bodies any more, a human being emerged. I said human be-ing, but it was actually a boy, five or six years old. It was unbeliev-able. Unbelievable. A human being came out and started walking towards a path, a path along which men were standing, doing their job, carrying automatic rifles… And then, out of nowhere they all put their guns down and all of them were just paralyzed. And it was only a child in front of them. ... And this child was covered in the tissue and intestines of other humans ... And this child emerged from the pile of executed people, calling: ‘Babo’… this is their word for father. The boy said, ‘Babo, where are you?’
This executioner’s testimony uncovers the face of genocide: its blank, human-less face, as perhaps no other testimony can. When the execu-tioners saw the young child, they saw a human being and put down their
1 Prof. dr. Keith Doubt, Keith Doubt, Wittenberg University, Ohio USA.
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guns. They stopped doing their heinous job because they saw in that moment how heinous it was.
We have to ask ourselves: What happened to the young child search-ing for his father? Was he killed? Did the executioners spare him? The nihilism of genocide pushes us to assume the boy was killed along with his father and others. In fact, the young child’s life was spared. One of the executioners, a physician, took the young boy, whose name is Fahru-din Meminović, to Zvornik.
This paper explores the particular way in which this event bears wit-ness to what genocide is. We know some things about Fahrudin Memi-nović’s life today. We do not know much about the physician who res-cued the boy. How did other Serbs view this action? Did they see it and honor it as an act of human decency or as a betrayal of Serbs? What were the social and political consequences for the physician, a man whom Meminović and his surviving family have sought to locate?
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Prof. dr. Adib Đozić1
MOTHER AND CHILD IN THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS
Abstract:
The final verdict on the genocide against Bosniaks in the UN Protect-ed Zone Srebrenica is just a paradigmatic example of the genocidal de-struction of Bosniaks during the entire process of making national coun-tries in the Balkan Peninsula. There is a lot of evidence of the genocidal suffering of Bosniaks, which are visible as both social and legal facts, but one of them stands out and that is the genocidal crime against mother and child as sources of the sanctity of human life. In this paper, on concrete examples of the genocidal murder of Bosniak mothers and their children in the 1992-1995 war against Bosnian society and the state and in the Second World War, we will prove that the genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica is not an individual and isolated case of genocide, but, on the contrary, unfortunately, represents only a paradigmatic part of the con-tinuous genocide of “national liberation”, great-power ideologies from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s neighborhood. By analyzing the genocidal killing of Bosniak mothers and children, we will also open the question of valid, false, historical narratives about national liberation movements as positive political-civilizational achievements.
Keywords: mother, child, crime, genocide, Bosniaks
1 Prof. dr. Adib Đozić, full time professor, University of Tuzla.
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Prof. dr. Srđan Vukadinović1
POSTTRAUMATIC AND DEHUMANIZIG DIMENSION OF SREBRENICA PAIN
Abstract:
The doctrine of the Srebrenica genocide is a painful example for humanity that will forever serve as a warning wound to the world to-wards this, once, protected zone of the United Nations. One of the two great-power projects, which had a devastating effect on the South Slavic area, and which is the creator and performer of the Srebrenica pain, is basically deeply anti-civilization and dehumanizing.
Genocide in Srebrenica happened in spite of everything the inter-national community, whatever they meant by that phenomenon, knew about the project and its actors. Especially since certain international values occurred and formed after the Second World War, it has been shown that an international arbiter is possible who can prevent the occur-rence of genocidal intentions. The Srebrenica experience is astonishing in the heart of Europe, which has done almost nothing to prevent it from happening. And twenty-five years after him, he is just as unsuccessfully working to regain life in something that should be the eternal wound of the international community.
Most responsible address as to why the Srebrenica genocide took place is the international one. And no “washing” of the unclean and dishonest conscience of international officials is and cannot be effective. And two and a half decades later, the same address bears the sole responsibility that everything that erases the memory of this monstrous act is erased, that crimes are kept silent, that convicted war criminals are glorified in certain parliaments that are bearers or those who were mere supporters of the mentioned projects. Such a sense of injustice, under the auspices of the international community, is stifling Srebrenica society, and thus Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Slavic.
1 Prof.dr. Srdjan Vukadinović, University of Tuzla.
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Political groups, power and, finally, the human nature of the universal code are to blame for everything that is happening in Srebrenica after two and a half decades. It is well known that often times large-scale media manipulations cause smart and determined individuals, as well as highly developed social and moral consciousness, to sink. That is not why justice should be done. There is no justice in the face of crime. And it may have an understanding. The only elementary justice that anyone who has committed a crime can try to establish is: first to realize that he did it, second to be sorry for what he did, third to repent for what he did, fourth to admit that he did it and fifth to finally bear all the consequenc-es of every possible justice for what he has done. However, Srebrenica carries one dimension that is much larger than what is called a mass crime. It carries a post-genocidal dimension. The greatest sacrifice made by an innocent man in relation to his ethnic, religious or racial affiliation should carry planetary condemnation.
If, even twenty-five years after the crime, there is no such condemna-tion, based on universal values, but many things are covered with a veil of oblivion, remembrance and non-confrontation, then it is a warning example for society and the international community, which is just as de-humanizing and anti-civilization, as much as the project that produced it.
Keywords: Posttraumatic Dimension - Dehumanization Dimension - Srebrenica Pain - Universal Values - Justice - Failure.
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Prof. dr. Arne Johan Vetlesen1
PORTRAYING MURDER AS “GOOD”
Abstract:Genocide is defined as the crime par excellence, the worst humans
can do to other humans both in terms of law and in terms of morality. And yet, from Auschwitz over Cambodia and Rwanda to Srebrenica, from one epoch and culture to another, the perpetrators of genocide in-sist that their aim is the victory of what is good over what is bad and that they therefore have morality on their side. What may be condemned as wrongful and evil by the outside world is painted as the very opposite, as the actions that need to be taken to ensure that what is of true worth will prevail against everything that threatens it. Killing is portrayed as legiti-mate self-defense, and unwillingness to take part in it as a moral failure, a betrayal of the group one belongs to and whose future is at stake.
The question of whether one can do evil willingly goes back to Socrates, linking it to ignorance, a lack of moral insight, on the part of the agent. In light of the series of genocides in the twentieth century, Socrates’ view may seem problematic – too optimistic morally speak-ing and too focused on the role of knowledge. Milton’s “evil, be thou my good” appears to be more up to the psychological complexity of the matter, pointing to how the good is susceptible to corruption, a corrup-tion that, importantly, takes places within the agent, in keeping with the Socratic perspective.
Taking a step back from the self-understanding of perpetrators, the question is: how can murder qualify as anything else than wrong? Is there no objectivity here, only relativity, the predicate “evil” colliding with that of “good”, depending on one’s point of view, one’s role as ei-ther perpetrator, or victim, or bystander? Are they in bad faith? Why is it that so few among those convicted of genocide admit guilt and show regret?
Keywords: Genocide, moral corruption, bad faith, guilt, regret
1 Prof. dr. Arne Johan Vetlesen, University of Oslo, Norway.
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Prof. dr. Hamza Karčić1
HOW HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS SUPPORTED BOSNIA
Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to show how Holocaust survivors support-ed Bosnia in the early 1990s. This fascinating but understudied aspect of the international response to the genocide against Bosniaks will be analyzed by studying the public advocacy of Elie Wiesel, Tom Lantos, Henry Siegman and Simon Wiesenthal. The significance of this support for Bosnia’s right to self-defense cannot be overstated.
Keywords: Holocaust survivors, Bosnia, genocide
1 Prof. dr. Hamza Karčić, Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo.
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PANEL II
CRIMES COMMITTED IN THE UN SAFE ZONE SREBRENICA. NEGATIONISM - THE LAST PHASE
OF GENOCIDE
Presiding Committee: Zijad Šehić
Sedad Bešlija
Prof. dr. Sead Turčalo1
(GEO)POLICY OF DENYING THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE
Abstract:
This paper analyzes the formal and practical geopolitical discourse of the denial of the Srebrenica genocide by the official policies of the Republic of Serbia and the Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska. The pa-per is based on an interpretive analysis of primary sources - statements, different texts and books of political representatives of Serbia and the Republika Srpska entity. The goal of the paper is twofold: on the one hand, to show how the discourse of genocide denial in Srebrenica has developed since July 11, 1995, within the mentioned official policies; and on the other, how the denial of the Srebrenica genocide and the facts established by it under international law are constituted as a geopolitical threat to the Serbian identity.
Keywords: Srebrenica, genocide, geopolitical discourse, Serbia, Re-publika Srpska
1 Prof. dr. Sead Turčalo, Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo
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Prof. dr. Mirko Pejanović1
SREBRENICA- A UNIVERSAL FOR COMMEMORATING THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE
Abstract:
A small town –Srebrenica, located in the eastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina became globally known after the genocide of 8372 Bos-niaks in July 1995. Three months before the Dayton peace agreement was signed, in November of 1995, the Army of Republika Srpska troops led by General Ratko Mladić committed genocide. Other than killing over 8.000 Bosniak men, they persecuted thousands of Srebrenica in-habitants.
Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić have been sentenced to life in jail for the crime of genocide committed in Srebrenica.
While the international institutions and the European Union recog-nize this crime and work proactively on remedying its consequences, the Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska are facing deep social and political negation of the Srebrenica genocide. This denial has been an obstacle for rebuilding the trust between Serbs and Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the West Balkans in general.
Meanwhile, Srebrenica and its adjoining villages lack wide and sys-tematic support for the durable return of its displaced inhabitants. There was a failed attempt in 2007 to give the city a special administrative status as a way towards reviving it.
This paper will critically analyze the approach of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian, EU, and international institutions as well as that of neigh-boring countries towards a durable and sustainable return to Srebrenica,
1 Prof. dr. Mirko Pejanović, Academy od Science and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovi-na.
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its economic and cultural development between 1996 and 2020. This paper argues for giving Srebrenica a special status in order to promote its development supported by a law that would ensure a solidarity fund for its development.
Keywords: Srebrenica, genocide, Republika Srpska Army, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international community, European Union, Office of the High Representative
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Prof. dr. Zijad Šehić1
PERCEPTIONS OF THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE
Abstract:
- “Cheating one another is a way to deceive yourself.” (Deni Diderot)
- “Every time a man fights for an ideal or tries to improve the fate of others, or fights against injustice, he sends a small ray of hope.”
(Robert F. Kennedy).
Based on the reference literature, the author observes the perception of the Srebrenica genocide in the domestic and foreign public, conclud-ing that the Srebrenica genocide is a “blood stain on the conscience of humanity”. The author paid special attention to the views of those who deny genocide and glorify war crimes and promote the ideology of ha-tred. In Serbia, in RS and in the circles of the international community in favor of spreading revisionist narratives about the Srebrenica genocide, there are political actors at all levels of state and government, as well as the academic community, journalists and various other institutions.
Waqar Azmi Obe, founder of the Remembering Srebrenica Founda-tion, believes that “in the fight against genocide deniers, all people should unite and show that they do not want the darkness to spread, to stop the spread of that blackness because otherwise it would pollute the world. That is why one must not stand aside next to those people who deny gen-ocide, who inflict that darkness… When they deny genocide, they deny not only the murder of those innocent people, the victims of genocide, but they also deny the evil that exists in those societies, the evil of hatred that is embedded in their hearts. They deny the existence of that ideology that gives birth to murderers. Denial gives legitimacy to that ideology
1 Prof. dr. Zijad Šehić, Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo.
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of evil as one that is not wrong. Denial denies the killings caused by the implementation of that ideology, denying the implementation of that ide-ology gives legitimacy to hatred as something right. When the genocide in Srebrenica is denied, the Holocaust is automatically denied, all forms of hatred are automatically approved - they are legitimizes.”
Despite a campaign of denial of the Srebrenica genocide that appears in various forms, in public discourse, in the education system, or in public appearances aimed at revising history and removing indisputable facts, these efforts have largely failed. A huge amount of documents, including a number of scientific and other evidence, support the judgments of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Mechanism. And on the basis of all this evidence, which has been thoroughly verified, the ICTY, the Mechanism and the International Court of Justice in The Hague have unequivocally confirmed that genocide was committed in Srebrenica in July 1995. And the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Srebren-ica genocide continues to take place in the shadow of political games on the diplomatic stage of the international community.
Keywords: Srebrenica, diplomacy, genocide, denial, truth, justice, reconciliation, USA, EU, Russia
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Prof. dr. Fahira Fejzić Čengić1
HOW TO PROCEED AFTER 25 YEARS OF GENOCIDE?
Abstract:
After a quarter of a century, these difficult 25 years that we have just counted, in this paper we will analyze them in three spheres. Three circles or three membranes of the state of Bosnian societies, states and academic people - which grew out of the wounds of the genocide against the Bosniaks of Srebrenica.
The first is the evident division of the so-called civilized world into those who directly condemn genocide and the so-called insidious world who deny it; the second is the division within Bosniaks into those who carry it in body and soul, condemning it daily and those for whom every remembrance of war suffering is a terror of memory, through the third division that arises on ideas and practices on how to continue in RS en-tity and Srebrenica and Bosnia and those who recklessly flees from any such thought.
All three circles, all three envelopes are especially important how to place them in the educational system, in home education, in personal un-derstanding and socialization. There is no doubt that we as intellectuals are especially responsible and that some jobs are well done. But 2020 has just shown how irresponsible and lost it is in this group of people.
Keywords: genocide, remembrance, world, Bosnia, Srebrenica
1 Prof. dr. Fahira Fejzić Čengić, professor, Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo.
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Dr. Esad BAJTAL1
THE CYNICISM OF GENOCIDE DENIAL
The cynicism of genocide denial
We will do as we intended
We will deny everything we did
Abstract:
Murdering the truth is part of the program, a starting point for the criminal expansionist politics of Slobodan Milošević, which he revealed as a methodological principle of negating all crimes committed by his rowdy and undisciplined soldiers on the first day od his Hague trial by proclaiming: “Everything about Bosnia and Herzegovina is an absolute lie.” This principle was adhered to during the war as well as in the years that followed. Its strongest manifestation is a well-planned and systemat-ic denial of the Srebrenica genocide. Instead of genocide, it is presented as a “grave crime” or a “terrible crime” committed by individuals. When those individuals are put to trial, like they were in the Hague, the trial is no longer interpreted as linked to the perpetrators but becomes a sup-posed trial against the entire Serbian people. Simultaneously, the public encouraged by the denial celebrates and proclaims what the officials are negating: “Knife, Wire, Srebrenica” (“Nož, žica, Srebrenica”), foretell-ing the repetition of history. Simplified the ideology of denial reduces all public statements to It was not as it was but as we say it was.
Keywords: negating, grave crimes, wire, knife, Srebrenica, Haag, Sa-rajevo, Tuzla, Vukovar, Sjenica, Jasenovac, Aushvicz
1 Dr. Esad Bajtal
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Dr. Muamer Džananović1,
TO FORGET EVIL - THE WAY FOR RECONCILIATION OR ONE OF THE SPECIFIC WAYS OF DENIAL OF GENOCIDE
AGAINST BOSNIAKS
Abstract:
Greater Serbian’s genocide against Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herze-govina, perpetrated from 1992-1995 is a crime that has been conduct-ed through several stages. Although, a quarter of a century has already passed since the genocide, the genocidal process has not stopped yet, and it is in its final phase - the phase of denial. Gregory Stanton emphasizes that denial is among the firmest indicators of the next genocidal mas-sacres. The process of genocide denial follows all genocides; it is only articulated in different ways. However, the denial of genocide against Bosniaks is certainly one of the most denied cases of genocides in human history. The political leaders of Republic Serbia and Bosnian entity Re-publika Srpska make a great effort and invest a lot of resources to drive the process of genocide denial at the local, regional and international level.
One of the specifics of the genocide against Bosniaks is that attempts are being made in various ways to prevent the culture of remembering the committed genocide from becoming a memoir for generations to come.
The study of Greater Serbia Aggression and genocide against Bosniaks is prohibited in primary and secondary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in fact insists on oblivion. Also, studying subjects at universities that treat genocide against Bosniaks is a rare occurrence. The fact is that many University professors avoid mentoring the studies on topics related to 1992-1995, especially the master’s and doctoral dissertations. In this paper, we will point out the phenomenon of genocide denial by those
1 Dr. Muamer Džananović, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo.
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who do not admit that the crimes were committed, believe that they have not been committed, that they are exaggerated and the like.
In this paper, we will point out the phenomenon of genocide denial by those who do not admit to have committed crimes; advocating that crimes have not been committed, that they are exaggerated, and so on. So these are classic denial methods that are not only specific to the genocide against Bosniaks. These deniers glorify and commemorate criminals and crimes, insult victims and avoid reconciliation.
A phenomenon that is gaining momentum when it comes to genocide against Bosniaks is that genocide actually, consciously or unconsciously, is denied by those who admit that genocide was committed in the territory of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They do it in different ways. Instead of mentioning the people as victims of genocide, they link up genocide with geographical space stating that territory was the victim of a genocidal process. Furthermore, they denationalize the victims of genocide and send messages that evil should be forgotten. It is not a novus in scientific and public discourse to insist on forgetting the “burdening” past. Just as Friedrich Nietzsche and Max Scheler did not find anything valuable in the memory of evil, believing that turning back turns us against life, so also lately, at the time of the strongest wave of genocide denial against Bosniaks, there are tendencies in public discourse that victims should forget evil committed against them. The oblivion is presented as a precondition for the way forward, the way to a common and better future, the way to development of the state and society of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is forgotten that evil is “repetitive” as Hannah Arendt says regardless of the punishment. Once a specific crime occurs, its recurrence is much more likely than the possibility of its occurrence. The continuity of the centuries-long recurrence of crimes against Bosniaks, which is in fact a matter of the identity of the state and society of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also of Bosniaks as victims, is an adequate example and proof of this attitude. The continuity of the centuries-long recurrence of crimes against Bosniaks, which in fact represents a matter of the identity of the Bosnian state and society, but
49
also of Bosniaks as victims, is an adequate example and proof of this attitude.
Consequently, in this paper we will look at (un)conscious ways and methods of denying genocide against Bosniaks, identify new methods of denial, certain deviance dealing in the aftermath genocide, but also to give recommendations in which direction the study of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina should go in order to adequately remember it, and finally stop the evil of genocide against Bosniaks that has lasted for several centuries.
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina, state, society, continuity of crimes, genocide against Bosniaks, denial of genocide, forgetting evil, memory of evil.
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Dr. Karčić Hikmet1
GENOCIDE DENIAL STRATEGY: FROM MARKALE TO SREBRENICA
Abstract:
Denial of genocide and mass crimes committed by Serb forces has been in progress since the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. To gain sympathy from the western forces and have them intervene, after the first massacres in occupied Sarajevo, Serb propaganda machinery accused the government of RBiH of shelling and sniper fire over its cit-izens. Notorious massacres in the streets Vase Miskina, Markale I, and Markale II, as well as the square known as ‘Gate’ in Tuzla, were sub-jected to ridicule by the Serb media. News about the concentration camp in Krajina during the summer of 1992 and the news about mass rape were dismissed as propaganda. Genocide in Srebrenica has since been denied and was subjected to conspiracy theories. A quarter of a century after the genocide, despite numerous judicial processes and vast forensic evidence, the denial of genocide and other crimes grows ever stronger. Notable western writers have also denied the genocide and other crimes including Jessica Stern, Noam Chomsky, Diana Johnstone, and Peter Handke. During the last decade, genocide denial has become the official strategy of the Republic of Serbia and Republika Srpska. In this paper, I will focus on key actors and their arguments in genocide denial and mini-mization of genocide and other crimes committed. I will demonstrate the sophistication of genocide denial developed over the years.
Keywords: genocide denial, Markale, Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herze-govina
1 Dr. Hikmet Karčić, senior expert associate of the Institute for the Tradition of Bos-niaks.
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Dr. Zilha Mastalić Košuta1
SARAJEVO, MOSTAR, SREBRENICA – EXAMPLES OF CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN IN THE REPUBLIC OF
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (1992-1995)
Abstract:Children, who enjoy protection under international humanitarian
law, have been victims of numerous crimes against humanity and international law during the aggression on the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Focusing on Sarajevo, Mostar and Srebrenica, this paper aims to research and show examples of these crimes. Numerous data, statements, information, testimonies, etc. stand as their testaments. Legally speaking, children in the armed conflicts are protected by four Geneva Conventions from 1949 and their two additional protocols from 1977, as well as many other international conventions and legal acts that contain rules regarding children in the armed conflict (Universal Declaration on Human Rights from 1948; Convention on the rights of the child from 1989; Statute of the International Criminal Court, Ottawa Charter, etc.). Under these rules they are protected as persons not taking part in the hostilities. Children enjoy both general protection as civilians and special protection as a particularly vulnerable group. General protection entails treating them humanely. Their lives, physical and psychological integrity must be respected. Attacks on children and civilians are prohibited in general. Their personal integrity is protected and parties in the conflict must ensure care and assistance as needed. As seen on the examples of Sarajevo, Mostar, and Srebrenica, these provisions have been ignored and seriously breached.
In these places, as regards the quantity of the crimes committed, they have been the victims of individual and mass killings. Besides being victims of killings, they suffered psychologically with long-term consequences. They suffered from famine and lack of medicine, they suffered from the cold and died from freezing and numerous diseases,
1 Dr. Zilha Mastalić Košuta, senior research associate Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo
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they were separated from their parents and families, and thus denied safe access to school and had their childhood taken away.
In this paper, I will show the differences and similarities in crimes in these three cities, modes in which they were committed along with other methods employed with the goal of destroying the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Keywords: children, Sarajevo, Mostar, Srebrenica, Republic of Bos-nia and Herzegovina, crimes 1992-1995, aggression, intentional human-itarian law, legal acts
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Mr. Alma Hajrić - Čaušević1,
Mr. Almir Grabovica2,
GENOCIDE ACTS AGAINST SREBRENICA BOSNIAKS, JULY 1995
Abstract:
During the aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995), the most serious form of crime against humanity and international law was committed against Bosniaks - genocide, which was confirmed by the Hague Tribunal for Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice. According to previous findings, court practice and scientific research, genocide in all its five acts (Article two of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide from 1948) was committed in and around Srebrenica. In this paper, we will present all the most important events, i.e. the chronology of the genocide from July 11, 1995 to July 22, 1995. It is important to point out that what happened in Srebrenica in July 1995 has been strategically planned and announced since 1992, and gradually realized in the years that followed. Unfortunately, gaining the status of a UN safe zone on April 16, 1993, did not help Bosniaks in Srebrenica either. Between 11 and 22 July 1995, Republika Srpska Armed Forces and Police, in co-operation with units from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Republika Srpska Krajina, and foreign mercenaries, in accordance with Greater Serbia ideology, policy and practice, and the occupation of the United Nations safe zone of Srebrenica, forcibly relocated all Bosniak women and children and captured, imprisoned and executed thousands of men and boys and buried them in mass graves in secret places. In that period, the largest mass murder in Europe after the Second World
1 Mr. Alma Hajrić - Čaušević, senior expert associate, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo
2 Mr. Almir Grabovica, senior expert associate, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo
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War took place, while the “international community” did nothing to stop the commission of crimes by monstrous methods. We believe that it is important to point out the genocide and other crimes committed in the period from 1992 to 1995 in different ways on a daily basis, all with the aim that they would never and nowhere be repeated. In this regard, we decided to use this paper to point out chronologically the most important facts of the genocide of Bosniaks in and around Srebrenica in July 1995.
Keywords: Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, aggression, geno-cide, crimes, Podrinje, enclave, UN safe zone, July 1995
55
Ivana Žanić1
RESPONSIBILITY OF SERBIA FOR SREBRENICA GENOCIDE, CASE STUDY - DEPORTATION OF REFUGEES FROM
SREBRENICA
Abstract:
After the arrival of Ratko Mladić, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, in Srebrenica in the early morning of July 11, 1995, the genocide against Bosniaks began, the first genocide commit-ted in the territory of Europe after the Second World War. About 30.000 women, children and the elderly took refuge at the UNPROFOR base in Potočari, expecting to be safe there, while 15.000 men tried to reach the territory that was in the hands of the BiH Army through the forest. Im-mediately on July 11, the VRS began separating men, including minors, from women, children and the elderly, who were transported by buses to the BiH Army territory. As of the following day, 12 July, various Bosnian Serb-controlled units began mass shootings of Bosniaks (Kozluk, the Pilica Cultural Center, the Branjevo Military Farm, near the Petkovci dam, Orahovac, etc.). A small number of men managed to survive the shootings, deciding to cross the Drina into the territory of Serbia and find salvation there. At that moment, the political leadership of Serbia, led by Slobodan Milošević, knew that Bosniaks were massacred in Srebrenica. Despite that, they decided to return the escaped men to the territory of Republika Srpska and directly into the hands of the VRS. By doing so, Serbia has violated the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which explicitly prohibits the expulsion and forcible return of refugees “to the borders of a territory where their life or liberty would be endangered because of their race, religion, citizenship, social group or political opinion”. Given the knowledge of the shootings in Srebren-ica, the Serbian authorities, with their decision to avoid returning to the territory controlled by the VRS, sent them to certain death. The publicly
1 Ivana Žanić, Executive Director of Humanitarian Law Center, Belgrade.
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available database of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia contains documents from the Serbian Ministry of the Interi-or, as well as documents from the RS and VRS police stating that at least 30 Srebrenica residents managed to escape and immediately afterwards, in most cases, they were returned to the VRS on the same day. Only six men managed to survive, while the other 24 were killed and buried in the mass grave of Glogova. The action of arresting refugee men was mainly attended by the Serbian border police, which made an official note after the arrest, and then handed over the men to the Republika Srpska police, which also handed over the detainees to one of the VRS units. All offi-cial notes from both the Serbian and the Republika Srpska police were presented as evidence in a number of ICTY cases involving the Srebren-ica genocide. The case study will analyze documents from the Serbian Interior Ministry, RS police and VRS and present arguments in support of claims that Serbian authorities decided to return the men to Republika Srpska despite knowing they would be killed, directly supporting the Srebrenica genocide against Bosniaks.
About the author
Ivana Žanić is the HLC’s Executive Director from April 2019. In the period from 2010 to 2012, she was employed as a trainee at a law office where she worked on the most complex cases in the field of criminal law. In addition to law practice, Ivana volunteered for several non-gov-ernmental organizations. She joined the HLC in 2012, working as a re-searcher on the “Kosovo Memory Book” project, and a coordinator of the “Dossiers: Search for War Crimes Perpetrators” project. From April to November 2018, Ivana coordinated the work of the HLC legal team.
Ivana graduated from Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Bel-grade, and holds a Master’s degree at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, where she mastered with the subject “Command Responsibility in the Jurisdiction of International Tribunals”. She took her Bar Exam in 2015.
Keywords: Srebrenica, genocide, responsibility, deportation, refu-gees
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Prof. dr. Denis Bećirović1
SERBIA’S POLICY OF VIOLATING INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DENYING COURT VERDICTS FOR GENOCIDE
AGAINST BOSNIAKS (2007-2020)
Abstract:
Almost fourteen years after the lawsuit was filed, on February 26, 2007, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled in the dispute between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro for violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The court explained, among other things, why Serbia is the only country in Europe after the Second World War that was separated from the circle of signatories to the Convention. According to the text of the verdict, Serbia was declared responsible because during the “critical period” it had the opportunity and mechanisms to influence the political and military structures of the illegal Republika Srpska that conceived, organized and committed genocide against the Bosniak population, as well as political, military and financial assistance to perpetrators of genocide. The ruling by the International Court of Justice, the highest legal body of the United Nations (UN), has not led to the necessary and expected awareness in Serbia and confrontation with the criminal legacy of the Serbian regime of Slobodan Milošević. Even after the verdict of the International Court of Justice, no serious public debate was initiated in Serbia, and the verdict in Serbia was misinterpreted thanks to, above all, the media which tendentiously, superficially and incompletely conveyed the verdict and its consequences to the Serbian public. Greater Serbian political circles in Serbia and the BiH entity Republika Srpska continued to deny the genocide against Bosniaks, even after the final judgments of the International Court of Justice, as well as the verdicts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
1 Prof. dr. Denis Bećirović, associate professor, Faculty of Philosophy - University of Tuzla
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Yugoslavia. Such a policy of violating international law was strongly supported by the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as the Serbian regime media, which constantly misinformed the public that international courts do not apply the same criteria to Serbs and other peoples. Most of the Serbian media promoted preconceived negative stereotypes about international courts, avoiding pointing out the facts and truly recalling what was happening during the first half of the 1990s in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fact with which brutal untruths, hoaxes and falsifications the Greater Serbia policy in the post-Dayton period denied the court and scientifically proven genocide against the Bosniaks is especially striking. The creators of such a policy, in the scientific-logical sense irrational and absurd, denied even the official judgments of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia. The official policy of Serbia and the BiH entity RS regarding the denial of the committed genocide against Bosniaks did not change even after the adoption of the Resolution on Srebrenica in the European Parliament, on January 14 and 15, 2009. Contrary to the opinion of the UN, the European Union, the United States and many other countries, as well as the judgments of international courts, in Serbia and the BiH entity RS in the second decade of the 21st century further strengthened and intensified policy of denying scientific and judicial facts about genocide against Bosniaks. In the service of justifying the expansionist policy of Slobodan Miločević’s regime, educational policy in Serbia and in the BiH entity RS played a particularly important role, as it did not establish a discontinuity with the Greater Serbia policy of conquest from the last decade of the 20th century. On the occasion of the anniversary of the genocide, top Serbian officials unethically and undiplomatically denied international court rulings on the genocide against Bosniaks. Thus, the initiative of Great Britain in 2015 to adopt a resolution on Srebrenica in the UN Security Council on the occasion of the 20th anniversary was met with immoral resistance by the governing structures in Serbia. The idea of the initiators of this resolution was to provide a new chance for true reconciliation in the region, but also to point out the importance of guiding the international community towards a preventive strategy,
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primarily by including genocide in regular curricula. However, Serbia’s top officials continued to pursue an anti-civilization policy of denying final judgments of international courts and disrespecting international law. Instead of accepting the verdicts of international courts and showing respect for the victims of genocide and war crimes, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić posthumously awarded the Order of the Serbian Flag of the First Degree to Vitali Churkin, Russia’s former ambassador to the UN, in Moscow in December 2017. In addition to the general confusion that was purposefully created regarding the facts about the recent past, the revision of the history of the entire 20th century continued in Serbia and the BiH entity RS, which further created chaos, especially in the minds of young people. The concept of observing history exclusively from the position of a victim prevented a serious dialogue about the past in Serbia. In Serbia, attention continued to focus on World War II. The persistent return to World War II aimed, among other things, at denying, diminishing and denying Serbia’s responsibility for the wars of aggression during the 1990s, and at proving that Serbs were the greatest victims in Yugoslavia during the 20th century.
Keywords: Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, aggression, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia, genocide, Bosniaks, Srebrenica.
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Avdo Huseinović1,
SPECIAL FORCES CORPS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF YUGOSLAVIA AND THE SERBIAN STATE SECURITY
SERVICE ROLE IN THE AGGRESSION ON R BIH, WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON CENTRAL PODRINJE
Abstract:
Beginning with the first days of aggression on RBiH Special forces corps of the Armed forces of Yugoslavia and the Serbian State Security Service actively participated in military operations and the execution of numerous crimes over non-Serb population throughout the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their bloody path begins with the occupation of Bijeljina, Zvornik, Bratunac, Brčko, Višegrad, Foča... and ends with genocide against Bosniaks from the UN safe zone Srebrenica. These forces have been routinely called “paramilitary” but research and judi-cial processes have established they had been under the command of the political, military, and police heads in Serbia.
This paper deals with the names and structure of the named forces, their command and hierarchy, places of aggression, and crimes as well as impunity for them.
Keywords: aggression, genocide, Armed forces of Yugoslavia, spe-cial forces
1 Avdo Huseinović, journalist.
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Doc. dr. Mujo Begić1
PLANNING AND USE OF BANNED CHEMICAL-BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS - THE CASE OF UN PROTECTED ZONES OF
SREBRENICA AND BIHAĆ
Abstract:
During the preparations and aggression against the Republic of Bos-nia and Herzegovina, the Yugoslav People’s Army and the Serbian mil-itary and police forces planned and conducted special operations using illicit chemical and biological agents in operations in the UN protected areas of Srebrenica and Bihać. In planning the aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Yugoslav People’s Army im-plemented a special program called “BIO-131-S”, which also referred to Srebrenica and Žepa. In 1995, the Serbian Army of Krajina, planned and implemented a special operation “MACH-1” against the civilian popu-lation and units of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina of the UN Protected zone of Bihać, in order to poison the population with contaminated food delivered to this area. Using all means, even prohibited means, the aggressor wanted to occupy the terri-tories of these two UN protected zones in all possible ways.
Keywords: UN Protected zones of Srebrenica and Bihać, chemi-cal-biological weapons, special operations.
1 Mujo Begić, PhD, Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Faculty of Pedagogy in Bihać
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Mr. Elvedin Mulagić1
GENOCIDE DENIAL AND POST-GENOCIDAL PROCESSES IN RUANDA AND BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Abstract:
The genocide against the Tutsis in Ruanda and the genocide against Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina were committed over the same pe-riod of time and within the same international context. Specifics of the genocide against Tutsis is reflected in the large death toll and the brutal execution of the killing of victims, while the genocide against Bosniaks is characterized by extensive ideological preparations, mass rapes, etc. Genocide and Crimes against Humanity were committed against both nations in the past, which went unpunished and became the subject of oblivion in the national memory. Both genocides, after their execution, became the subject of very serious denial. The genocide against Tutsis has become the subject of serious denial in international public, as well the genocide against Bosniaks. On the other hand, the genocide against Bosniaks, in addition to the ubiquitous denial at the global level, is also the subject of very serious denial in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its neighborhood. By presenting, in this paper, forms of genocide denial at the global level, we will identify common conceptual characteristics of denial of both genocides. The post-genocidal process has been carried out in different ways in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Rwanda, which is reflected in the success of countries in countering genocide denial. Rwan-da is a positive example of successful management of the post-genocidal process. Rwanda successfully implements the process of national recon-ciliation, prosecution of perpetrators and re-socialization of perpetrators, owing to the implementation of traditional methods and the develop-ment of a comprehensive national program. Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand, applies a much deficient approach in the post-genocidal
1 Mr. Elvedin Mulagić, associate of the Institute for Research of Crimes against Hu-manity and International Law, University of Sarajevo
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process and transition. The purpose of this paper is to present the basic characteristics of genocide against Tutsis and genocide against Bosniaks and their denial, and the national solutions in post-genocidal processes in these societies.
Keywords: genocide, denial of genocide, genocide against the Tutsis, genocide against Bosniaks, specifics of genocide, forms of genocide de-nial, aftermath genocide, reconciliation, prosecution of crimes and per-petrators.
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Đozić Emrah1
RELIGIOUS LIFE IN SREBRENICA AND ŽEPA DURING THE
AGGRESSION 1992-1995
Abstract:
Srebrenica and Žepa, places in eastern Bosnia, have been exposed to armed attacks since the very beginning of the aggression. Although Srebrenica and Žepa have been in the UN safe zone since 1993, they were still under the siege and difficult living conditions. Even in such unbearable conditions of the struggle for survival, tradition and faith were nurtured in these places. Based on archival material, preserved pictures and videos, and the testimonies of survivors and witnesses of everyday life, this paper presents an overview of religious life in Sre-brenica and Žepa from 1992 to 1995 and their comparative analysis. The aim of this research is to show all the religious activities that took place in these places during the siege as well as to present the Bosniak Muslims of this area, their moderation and commitment to tradition, as well as to show that the Muslims of this area were not mujahedeen, ji-hadists, Islamic fundamentalists, etc. The results of this research can be used for further research on the same and related topics.
Keywords: Srebrenica, Žepa, siege, UN safe zone, religious life
1 Đozić Emrah, BA Faculty of Islamic Sciences, University of Sarajevo.
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Alen Borić1, BA
GENOCIDE IN SREBRENICA AND ITS (MISS)USE IN THE SPORT LIFE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA AND ITS SUR-
ROUNDINGS
Abstract:
After 1995, the sport stadiums were (miss)used for the purpose of expression of national attitudes, and the site of games was now the place for the supporters’ riots, conflicts, and provocations. Each of fans group presented its national corpus, depending on the part of Bosnia and Her-zegovina where the fan group is located and the sports team which they support. Matches between sports clubs between Sarajevo - Mostar - Ban-ja Luka are, because of the possible fan conflicts, marked as “high risk” matches. When we speak about genocide in Srebrenica, the fan scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their neighboring country, we can see on the stands now the scenes created in reference to a particular national discourse. Fan groups from the parts with Bosniaks national majority mostly had some interventions in the previous period that seek to create a cultural memory of the genocide in Srebrenica. Fan groups with areas where the Serb majority celebrated the events of July 1995 as “libera-tion” and “heroism”, convicted war criminals with “heroes” and “lib-erators”. Through this topic, we will analyze the way fans express their opinion and stand. Sending a message through massages on transparent during the game, through graffiti, printing T-shirts, as well as chanting during the game using the most common methods to show the attitude about Srebrenica. In addition to the fan group in Bosnia and Herzegovi-na, we will analyze similar events and attitudes and how the Srebrenica genocide was denied among fan groups in the neighboring country.
Keywords: genocide, Srebrenica, fan scene, supporters, fan move-ment, sport, football, Ratko Mladić.
1 Alen Borić, Master’s student at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo.
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PANEL III
GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS IN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE
Presiding Committee: Alija Kožljak
Hasan Nuhanović
Doc. dr. Alija Kožljak1
UN SECURITY COUNCIL STANCES AND DECISIONS REGARDING SREBRENICA GENOCIDE
Abstract:
Although there is no universal definition of the term international community, many will agree that the United Nations (UN) is its most prestigious representative. Established to ensure international peace and stability, the organization eliminates threats to it through collective ac-tion, combats the acts of aggression or other violations of peace, and pro-tects lives and human rights.. It is of particular importance to emphasize that the UN promotes consistent adherence to the principle that every sovereign state is an equally important member of the Organization.
By accepting a sovereign state into its membership, it legalizes booth of self-defense actions, as well as the collective use of force in order to preserve or re-establish international peace and security, which has become an international legal norm. In this regard, the UN has both the right and the responsibility to take appropriate measures and actions ,in-cluding sanctions, against those who do not comply with international regulations in this regard.
Genocide, committed in Srebrenica and neighboring municipalities in 1995. is the most heinous example of inhumane behavior and violations of international norms, which has unequivocally confirmed the ineffec-tiveness of the international community in preserving peace and pre-venting human suffering. However, in addition, the UN Security Coun-cil further confirmed its inconsistent action through the absence of full and adequate sanctioning of organizers and perpetrators of genocide. Of particular concern is the fact that the UN Security Council, as it did not take effective measures to prevent aggression against Bosnia and Herze-govina, and thus the genocide in Srebrenica, has not made appropriate decisions and positions even after the genocide, until today.
1 Doc. dr. Alija Kožljak, brigadier
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The purpose of this text is to analyze the relation of the UN Security Council to the genocide in Srebrenica. The research is focused on the decisions, stances and other activities of this body during and after the commission of genocide. The effectiveness of the UN action is further analyzed through the influences of the permanent members of the Secu-rity Council, who even in such situations put their national interests in the forefront, directly creating the positions and decisions of the Council. These influences are determined through the analysis of UN Security Council documents, other international documents as well as national documents of member states. The consequences caused by such actions are also elaborated, which have a very wide range of implications, both for the countries concerned, as well as for society and the wider interna-tional community. The concluding remarks emphasize the importance of the decisions made and the views expressed, as well as those not adopt-ed, suggesting alternative procedures, which would possibly represent some satisfaction, but to some extent also direct the future actions of the UN Security Council.
Keywords: UN Security Council, genocide, Srebrenica, decisions, efficiency.
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Caroline Fournet1
GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: THE INPUT OF THE ICTY 25 YEARS AFTER SREBRENICA
Abstract:
In The Graves – Srebrenica and Vukovar (1998), Eric Stover re-called the words of Clyde Snow, world-leading forensic anthropologist: ‘“Bones”, Snow said once, “are often our last and best witnesses: they never lie, and they never forget”.’ In the aftermath of atrocities, the vic-tims’ remains can indeed reveal who the victims were, how and when they died and what happened to them both before and after their death. Judicially translated, this means that the medico-legal analysis of these remains can be used to determine the criminality of the deaths, qualify the crime, and demonstrate the perpetrators’ intent. In different cases, which this paper addresses, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has relied on forensic evidence to establish the intent to destroy of the perpetrators and qualify the crime of geno-cide.
An analysis of the ICTY case law however reveals that such qualification has been reserved to the sole case of Srebrenica. For crimes committed in other municipalities in Bosnia- Herzegovina and at another time of the conflict, the ICTY has consistently used the characterization of crimes against humanity and excluded that of genocide, defined in Article II of the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as a crime ‘committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group’. In Mladić, the Trial Chamber justified this decision by explaining that, although the perpetrators had the intent to destroy part of the Bosnian Muslim group as such, their intent fell short of being genocidal insofar as they did not have the intent to destroy a substantial part of this (protected) group.
1 Caroline Fournet, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Groningen (Netherlands)
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Based on a systematic and exhaustive analysis of all the ICTY cases in which the defendants were accused of genocide, this paper proposes to address the Tribunal’s limitative interpretation of the crime of genocide and to critically assess the legal validity of its judicial reasoning in light of the forensic evidence presented. This paper also refers to the cases of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in which foren-sic evidence was used to prove genocide. In so doing, this paper argues that the ICTY here erred in law, delivering several judgments, which un-sustainably restrict the definition of the crime of genocide and ultimately misread the law of genocide.
Keywords: Genocide, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Srebrenica, ICTY, ICTR, Intent to destroy
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Prof. dr. Zijad Hasić1,
PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS AND CIVILIAN POPULATIONS IN ARMED CONFLICT – WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON THEIR
PROTECTION IN SREBRENICA IN 1995.
Abstract:
In all wars fought up to now, beside soldiers of the warring parties and those in service of the warring parties, constant followers were also ci-vilians and the civilian population. That category of participants of every war, participating with no volition of their own, is often the greatest vic-tim of each actual armed conflict. The makers of first international doc-uments, the first humanitarians, knew that so that they tried to human-ize armed conflict, proposed and adopted important humanitarian law conventions and acts, of which most notable are the Geneva and Hague conventions governing these issues.
Civilians and civilian populations found on the occupied territory or caught by exchange of fire during the armed conflict, are provided pro-tection by these international documents. There are many kinds of pro-tection, starting with the protection of the greatest values of human kind –human life, to many other human values. In this paper, which I intend to present at the international scientific conference, I will be talking about numerous rights of civilians and civilian populations in armed conflict, the norms of international humanitarian law intended to protect civil-ian populace in armed conflict as governed by the Geneva and Hague conventions and other relevant international instruments, those applying on civilians present in the times of armed conflict, as well as to those interned. Normative determination of the position of protected persons, domiciled population, foreigners, interned persons and others, through the insurance of their nourishment, accommodation, hygiene, medical care, enactment of religious rights, intellectual and physical activities, protection of personal property and financial instruments, ensuring legal
1 Prof. dr. Zijad Hasić, Faculty of Law, University of Travnik.
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representation, reallocation in times of armed conflict, and in particular in regards to civilian deaths – all of this will be the focus of my work. Special attention will be dedicated to the position of civilians and civil-ian population in the year 1995 during armed operations by the Army of Republika Srpska in the United Nations protected enclave Srebrenica, as well as the consequences of violating the norms of international hu-manitarian law at that time. In the end, I will give a certain overview of the normative protection of civilians and civilian populations today, the messages that are sent by the deaths of civilians and civilian population of Srebrenica during war in August 1995.
Keywords: armed conflict, protected persons in armed conflict, pro-tection of civilians and civilian population, international humanitarian law
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Prof. dr. Sadmir Karović1
Doc. dr. Suad Orlić2
Mr. Damir Bilić3
DESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIME OF GENOCIDE
Abstract:
In this paper, the authors emphasized the destructive nature of the international crime of genocide, that, given the negative consequences, attracts special attention of the international community. Despite all the efforts and attempts of the international community in terms of preventing the commission of genocide, this crime is a faithful companion of humans and represents the dark side of human history. International trials have established high standards of proof for this crime, which is recognizable, special and unique in its subjective component – genocidal intent, manifested in the intention to completely or partly destroy a certain (conventionally) protected human group. The specific genocidal intent of the perpetrator of this crime is a unique feature of genocide that distinguishes this crime from other international crimes. The destructive nature is manifested precisely in the genocidal intent of the perpetrator, which is aimed at the complete or partial destruction of a certain (conventionally) protected human group. Genocidal acts are exhaustively and alternatively prescribed in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide from 1948, so that
1 Prof. dr. Sadmir Karović, Sadmir Karović – Associate Professor of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Travnik, Employed at the State Investigation and Protection Agency, Bosnia and Herzegovina
2 Suad Orlić – Assistant Professor for Criminal Law at the University of Zenica, Em-ployed in the Ministry of Interior of Zenica-Doboj Canton.
3 Damir Bilić – Master of Law, 3rd cycle student – Faculty of Law, University of Travnik.
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for the existence of this crime it is necessary to establish the existence of at least one act of execution and subjective element – genocidal intent of the perpetrator.
Keywords: genocide, genocidal intent, crime, international criminal law
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Doc. dr. Zijad Bećirović1
SREBRENICA GENOCIDE 1995-2000 - INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND LAW
Abstract:
By its Resolution on the Establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) No. S / RES / 827 (1993), the UN Security Council of 25 May 1993. 827 (1993), adopted by the Security Council at its 3217th session on 25 May 1993, stated, inter alia: “Determined to stop such crimes and to take effective measures to bring to justice those responsible for them. Convinced that in the specific cir-cumstances prevailing in the former Yugoslavia, as an ad hoc measure of the Council, the establishment of an international tribunal and the pros-ecution of persons responsible for grave violations of international hu-manitarian law would achieve this goal and contribute to the restoration and maintenance of peace.”
Considering that the establishment of an international tribunal and the prosecution of persons responsible for the above-mentioned violations of international humanitarian law will contribute to ensuring that such violations are stopped and effectively sanctioned. Although the goal of the UN Security Council was to stop the crimes, the Srebrenica Gen-ocide happened more than two years after the founding of the ICTY. The international community is almost always late, both politically and legally. A series of UN resolutions did not prevent the genocide in Sre-brenica, nor other crimes in the former Yugoslavia. Today, the European Parliament points to respect for the legacy of the ICTY, the ICJ and calls for the recognition of judicially established facts regarding the genocide in Srebrenica.
The European Commission continues to call for peace and reconciliation, although the facts of genocide are denied on a daily basis.
1 Doc. dr. Zijad Bećirović, International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) Ljubljana
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Transitional justice projects supported by the international community have failed. Victims are continuously addressing the international community seeking legal protection from deniers who simultaneously glorify crimes and criminals. Why and who from the international community obstructs the protection of the legal heritage of international courts, the protection of victims and why Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a law on genocide denial. Is the international community making the same mistakes as in the 1990s and what are the possible consequences of such actions by the international community? To what extent has the genocide in Srebrenica contributed to the development of international law in the field of war crimes and crimes of genocide and the processing and study of war crimes and genocide in the world.
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Dr. Vahid Karavelić1,
TERRORISM AND GENOCIDE
Abstract:
Terrorism is one of the social phenomena that threaten the security of states and societies. It is one of the components of war (armed) conflicts. It is a common case that a certain terrorist act was the reason for war and war destruction. The consequences produced by terrorist acts and terrorism include, among others, the commission of numerous individual and mass forms of crimes against humanity and international law, in-cluding the crime of genocide. Bosnia and Herzegovina has experienced such fate. There are few places in the world with such a rich history of violence and acts of terror as that of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The latest aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in series of crimes against humanity and international law, including the crime of genocide, both in Srebrenica and in all occupied towns and cities under siege. In this context, the analysis of the content of relevant documentation will draw parallels, connections and relations between terrorism and genocide committed in the Republic of Bosnia and Herze-govina. It will be shown that terrorism (and terrorism) and genocide are phenomena that accompany each other and are an inseparable part of war conflicts, since terrorism has become one of the main features of modern ways and methods of warfare.
Keywords: terrorism, genocide, Bosnia and Herzegovina, state, Sre-brenica
1 Dr. Vahid Karavelić, retired general.
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Doc. dr. Enis Omerović1,
Amila Husić2, dipl. iur.
THE ROLE OF GENDER IN GENOCIDE
Abstract:
Genocide - crime of crimes - is the act of deliberately and systematically destroying a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion or race. However, other identities of the victim, in addition to those already stated, also play a role in their targeting, victimization, as well as the perpetration of genocide. One of the key identities is gender as the primary social construct with which all people identify, in various forms. In the light of the genocide committed in the Srebrenica area, in addition to the obvious Bosniak or Muslim identity, one thing cannot be ignored and that is the fact that the victims, according to the criteria for committing genocide, had another common identity - gender. The killing of members of the group, as the first actus reus of genocide by convention, in the Srebrenica area in July 1995, was mostly aimed at men old enough for military service in an attempt to wipe out the Bosniak ethnic community by physically eliminating their male members. The female members of the protected group were largely targeted and subjected to other actions under the contractual definition of this crime. In addition to the previous claim, the paper also examines the forcible transfer of members of a group (with genocidal intent) as an act of genocide. Less obvious than other elements of ethnicity, gender plays an important role in one’s ethnic identity. Gender discrimination in the manner in which genocide was committed is not exclusively a feature of genocide committed in the Srebrenica area, but is a common feature in other cases of genocide in the world. The authors of this article explore the role of the gender of victims of genocide, considering it an important element, especially in the indirect identification of genocidal intent. The
1 Doc. dr. Enis Omerović, Faculty of Law, University of Zenica.2 Amila Husić, Faculty of Law, University of Zenica..
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paper also explores the phenomenon of ‘gendercide’ and specific forms of genocide against women, such as rape as a form of genocidal act, forced pregnancy and other manifestations of systematic and comprehensive sexual violence committed with genocidal intent.
Keywords: Genocide, gender, Srebrenica, killing of members of a group, forcible transfer of members of a group with genocidal intent, rape, forced pregnancy
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Dr. Meldijana Arnaut Haseljić1
Mr. Alma Hajrić-Čaušević2
RADOVAN KARADŽIĆ – RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE GENOCIDE IN UN SAFE ZONE SREBRENICA, JULY 1995.
Abstract:
Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Radovan Karadžić, former President of Republika Srpska (RS) and Supreme Commander of its armed forces, of genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws or customs of war committed by Serb forces and sentenced him to 40 years’ imprisonment. Karadžić was found guilty for persecutions in the areas Bosnian Serbs claimed to be theirs, the campaign of sniping and shelling Sarajevo, taking UNPROFOR personnel hostage, and genocide in Srebrenica. Karadžić was convicted for crimes he committed by participating in four joint criminal enterprises, The Overarching joint criminal enterprise in Bosnia and Herzegovina, joint criminal enterprise to eliminate the Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica (genocide), the joint criminal enterprise in Sarajevo (a campaign of sniping and shelling against the civilian population aimed to spread terror) and the joint criminal enterprise with the common purpose of taking UN personnel hostage (UNPROFOR). The Trial Chamber found him guilty of 10 out of 11 counts of crimes. He was acquitted of the charge of genocide in seven municipalities in BiH in 1992. (Bratunac, Foča, Ključ, Prijedor, Sanski Most, Vlasenica and Zvornik). The Appeal was under the jurisdiction of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals that sentenced him to life in prison and found him guilty of genocide in Srebrenica but acquitted him of the charge of genocide in other municipalities.
1 Dr. Meldijana Arnaut Haseljić, senior research associate Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo
2 Mr. Alma Hajrić-Čaušević, senior expert associate, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo
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In the Indictment, it is claimed he “in concert with other members of a joint criminal enterprise, implemented, and/or used others to implement, a plan to take over the Srebrenica enclave and forcibly transfer and/or deport its Bosnian Muslim population.” The Prosecution qualified the killing of Bosniaks in Srebrenica during July and August of 1995 as acts of genocide; persecutions as a crime against humanity; extermination as a crime against humanity; murder as a crime against humanity; murder as a violation of the laws or customs of war. The indictment claimed that the separation of men and boys from their families and the forcible removal of the women, young children, and some elderly men from the enclave caused serious bodily or mental harm to thousands of female and male members of the Bosnian Muslims of Srebrenica constituted the act of genocide.
All accounts of murder were committed in the span of several days and under such circumstances that clearly indicate cooperation between different levels and segments of political, military, and police structures of “Srpska Republika”. The implemented strategy of relocating the pris-oners from the places of capture to secondary locations of detainment or tertiary locations of murder indicates consistency in the intent and execution of the operation of mass killings and hiding the executions. The efforts invested in finding the column, killings, and imprisonment of men from the column regardless of their status as civilians, fighters, or prisoners, indicates a clear intent to kill all military-able men belonging to a group- Bosniaks. Implementing this plan consequently prevented prevent births and exterminated generations of men, potentially leading to its complete disappearance. Simultaneous separation, relocation, and deportation of the remaining Bosniak population that resulted in remov-ing the women, children, and the elderly from the Srebrenica enclave, causing them serious bodily or mental harm. These facts point to the undoubted genocidal intent of destroying Bosniaks as a group.
The role Radovan Karadžić in this genocidal process is undoubt-ed, as he was one of the founders of the Serb democratic party (Srpska demokratska stranka (SDS)); chairmen of the Council for national secu-rity, president of the three-member presidency of RS form the date of its formation on May 12th, 1992 until December 17th, 1992. From then on
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he was the only president of Republika Srpska and the Supreme Com-mander of its armed forces. The positions he held and the actions he took were the deciding factors in the guilty genocide verdict.
Keywords: genocide, extermination, persecution, mass killings, in-humane acts, deportations, joint criminal enterprise, crimes against hu-manity, violations of laws and customs of war, Geneva conventions
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Dr. Meldijana Arnaut Haseljić1
Halisa Čengić Mešić2
GENOCIDE VERDICT AGAINST RADISLAV KRSTIĆ, COMMANDER OF THE DRINA CORPS
Abstract:
Radislav Krstić was a lieutenant colonel in the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA). In the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), he was appointed commander of the 2nd Romanija Motorized Brigade, which was first an integral part of the Sarajevo-Romanija Corps, and in November 1992 it became a part of the Drina Corps. He remained in the position of Bri-gade commander until September 1994, when he was appointed Chief of Staff and at the same time Deputy commander of the Drina Corps. In June 1995, Krstić was promoted to the rank of Major General, and on July 13, General Ratko Mladić appointed him commander of the Drina Corps. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General of the VRS in January 1998.
The indictment alleges that Krstić played a leading role in the Opera-tion Krivaja 95, the code name for the genocide in Srebrenica, a United Nations safe zone. In this military operation from 13 to 19 July 1995, more than 8,000 Bosniak men were systematically killed in mass execu-tions, and other Bosniaks living in Srebrenica at the time (approximate-ly 25,000 women, children and the elderly) were forcibly deported and moved out of the enclave. Krstić is charged with genocide, complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity: extermination, murder, persecution, deportation, inhumane acts (forcible transfer), and violations of the laws or customs of war (murder). He was arrested on a Hague warrant in De-cember 1998.
1 Dr. Meldijana Arnaut Haseljić, senior research associate Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo
2 Halisa Čengić Mešić, associate in the legal department of KPMG Tax & Advisory BH d.o.o. Sarajevo
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The Trial Chamber Judgment in the case (IT-98-33 Radislav Krstić) found that genocide was committed in Srebrenica. Also, it was estab-lished that since his appointment as commander of the Drina Corps, Krstić has participated in a joint criminal enterprise of mass killing of able-bodied Bosniak men who were in Srebrenica during the Operation Krivaja 95. Krstić shared with his accomplices the genocidal intent to kill these men. The chamber further found him guilty as a member of a joint criminal enterprise aimed at forcible removal of Bosniak women, children and the elderly from Potočari on 12 and 13 July, and creation of humanitarian crisis that would force the Srebrenica population to flee to Potočari, where their fear and panic were to be strengthened, and even-tually lead to their readiness to leave the territory. All crimes committed during the occupation of Srebrenica, a UN safe zone, were committed in the area of responsibility of the Drina Corps. Based on Krstić’s in-dividual criminal responsibility, the Trial Chamber found him guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. He was sentenced to 46 years in prison. It was the first Hague verdict for genocide and the largest prison sentence ever.
In the appeals procedure, Krstić’s responsibility was reduced. The Chamber found that Krstić knew that killings were taking place in the Bratunac Brigade’s area of responsibility and that he allowed the Gen-eral Staff to use personnel and resources under his command to assist in the commission of those crimes. Krstić’s criminal responsibility was the responsibility of the person who helps and supports the killings, ex-termination and persecution, and not the responsibility of the main ac-complice. However, the Appeals Chamber found that Krstić was aware of the genocide intent of some members of the VRS Main Staff, but that the existence of General Krstić’s genocidal intent had not been proven, and was acquitted of genocide as the main perpetrator, but was declared guilty of aiding and abetting genocide. According to the unequivocally established facts, Radislav Krstić, on the basis of individual criminal re-sponsibility, was found guilty of: aiding and abetting genocide, aiding and abetting murder (violation of the laws or customs of war), extermi-
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nation, persecution (crimes against humanity), and murder (violations of the law or customs of war) and sentenced to 35 years in prison. The verdict against Radislav Krstić is the Hague cornerstone of the verdict for the crime of genocide, by which the very definition of genocide as a crime is interpreted more deeply and elaborated more precisely.
Keywords: Srebrenica, genocide, joint criminal enterprise, crimes against humanity, violation of the laws or customs of war, ICTY
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Prof. dr. Džemal Najetović1
SREBRENICA, ASHATTERED MIRROR OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
(International involvement and liability for genocide in Srebrenica)
“Next to Rwanda and Somali, Srebrenica is the biggest failure of the UN forces”.
Alain Le Roy, French diplomat, Chief o UN peace keeping forces
Abstract:In modern history, as nowhere else, but certainly in Europe, the
UN, with all its bureaucratic, not small, mammoth machinery, nowhere has experienced greater humiliation and disgrace as in Srebrenica. In Srebrenica were buried all the principles of the so-called. Western democracy, trampled and betrayed all charters and resolutions, starting with the UN Charter, the Helsinki Convention, the Paris Principles, the Hague tribunal’s decisions, the Geneva Conventions, etc.
In Srebrenica was buried Maastricht or at least those principles on which the EU wants to build its future. All the curtains have dropped down and hopes shut down of those who still believe in a new interna-tional order, human rights and freedoms, in the achievements of Western civilization and culture. The old, arrogant, neo-colonial European policy in Srebrenica has shown its true colors.
Although almost all the proposals of peace plans: Cutileiro (March 1992); Vance-Owen (April 1993); Owen-Stoltenberg (September 1993); The Washington-Vienna (May 1994); Contact Group (July 1994), and so on treated Srebrenica as the territory of the Bosniak majority, as it was in reality, the international community has allowed its suffering.
Keywords: international community, responsibility, genocide, Bos-niaks, Srebrenica
1 Prof. dr. Džemal Najetović, Faculty of Law, Travnik University.
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Dr. Merisa Karović Babić1
UNPROFOR IN SREBRENICA, A SAFE AND DEMILITARIZED ZONE OF THE UNITED NATIONS
-UNPROFOR troop regrouping initiatives-
“If you don’t have a lightning rod, stay away from the storm”
Janvier, New York, May 24, 1995
Abstract:
Although the text of United Nations Security Council Resolution 819, which declared Srebrenica a safe zone, nowhere states that the area should be demilitarized, the demilitarization was carried out at the initiative of the troop commander General Morillon, given that the UNPROFOR mandate had not been fully defined and sufficient troops could not be delivered to the city. Then a small contingent of Canadian troops arrived in the Srebrenica area, numbering 145 lightly armed soldiers, with a completely undefined mission. Since the issue of defining the concept of safe zones was left for future resolutions, and it was never fully defined, opted for a minimalist concept regarding the delivery of troops for the implementation of safe zone policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the beginning of 1994, the Dutch battalion replaced the Canadian one, and in this paper we will pay special attention to issues such as the motive for the arrival of Dutch troops in Srebrenica, as well as its size. At the end of 1994 and in the first half of 1995, a whole series of discussions were held on the issue of the withdrawal of UNPROFOR from Bosnia and Herzegovina, on which a NATO operational plan was drafted. However, as this proposal was assessed as uncertain and very risky, at the UNPF Headquarters in Zagreb, Janvier’s assistants drafted a plan to regroup UNPROFOR troops, which meant their withdrawal from the eastern
1 Dr. Merisa Karović Babić, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo.
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enclaves. Since two of the three eastern enclaves were demilitarized zones, this would also mean the surrender of these enclaves. The reasons for these initiatives were explained by Janvier himself: “If you don’t have a lightning rod, stay away from the storm” (May 24, 1995, New York) or “while we are in the enclaves we will always be neutralized.” (June 9, 1995, Split). According to this plan, the troops of the Dutch battalion were to withdraw from Srebrenica by mid-July 1995, and they were to be replaced by troops from the Ukrainian battalion. The Dutch were so preoccupied with their imminent exit from the Srebrenica enclave that they allegedly did not even notice what was obvious: that an attack on this safe zone was being prepared. The paper will also discuss the indolent behavior of UNPROFOR members during the fall of observation posts around Srebrenica, the surrender of 55 DUTCHBAT members to Serb forces, and the arrival of potential hostages, as well as Operation Blue Sword, or symbolic “close air support” to UNPROFOR troops. Genocide was committed in front of members of the Dutch Battalion, and seven days after the originally proposed withdrawal date - July 21, DUTCHBAT members from Srebrenica did withdraw, but the circumstances of this withdrawal were shameful for the credibility of DUTCHBAT and the United Nations.
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Mr. Hasan Nuhanović1,
“INTERPRETATION OF UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION 819 AND RESOLUTION 1004 IN RELATION
TO THE SITUATION IN AND AROUND SREBRENICA AT THE TIME OF THEIR ADOPTION”
Abstract:
To what extent did UN Security Council Resolutions 819 and 1004 correspond to the situation on the ground and what can we learn from their content about the actors explicitly mentioned in the text of the reso-lution? What do we learn from the content of these two resolutions about the status of the territory of the Srebrenica Safe Zone and the popula-tion that was found in that territory at the time of the adoption of both resolutions? What do we learn about the connection between these two resolutions and the obligations arising from the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide?
Keywords: UN, resolution, Safe Zone, genocide.
1 Mr. Hasan Nuhanović, PhD candidate at the Faculty of Global, Urban and Social Studies (GUSS), RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
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Dr. Hoda Dedić1
CRIME OF GENOCIDE IN SREBRENICA IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTIONS AND OTHER
INTERNATIONAL ACTS
Abstract:
The Srebrenica genocide committed in July 1995 by the Army of Re-publika Srpska is the largest mass crime committed in Europe since the Holocaust in World War II. In their verdicts, the Srebrenica massacre was condemned as a crime of genocide by both the International Crim-inal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice in a case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
During the few days of the massacre after the fall of Srebrenica, which the United Nations Security Council, by its Resolution no. 819 of 16 April 1993 declared a protected zone, more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were executed, while almost 30,000 women, children and the el-derly were forcibly expelled in a huge-scale ethnic cleansing campaign.
Radovan Karadžić, a former politician who served as the President of Republika Srpska was in March 2019 convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Earlier, in November 2017, the Inter-national Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found the wartime commander of the Republika Srpska Army, Ratko Mladić, guilty and sentenced him to life in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity. The European Parliament has adopted several resolutions on Srebrenica. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, the House of Representatives of the United States Congress unanimously adopted the Resolution on Srebrenica. On the occasion of the 25th anni-versary of the Srebrenica genocide, the United States Congress adopted a Resolution condemning the genocide and other crimes against Bosniaks
1 Dr. Hoda Dedić, external associate of the Foreign Policy Initiatives of BiH.
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committed by Serb forces in Srebrenica in July 1995, and in May 2020 the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on the importance of Eu-ropean remembrance for the future of Europe. This paper will analyze the resolutions of the European Parliament on the Srebrenica commem-oration, as well as other international sources on the crime of genocide committed in the UN protected zone in Srebrenica.
Keywords: genocide, Srebrenica, Resolution, European Parliament, Congress, United States of America, United Nations
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Nevenka Tromp1
MISJUDGING HISTORY: AN ANLALYSIS OF THE ICTY GEN-OCIDE JUDGMENTS
Abstract:
This paper explores the transitional, post-transitional and strategic narratives about the wars in the former Yugoslavia, more specifically in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The battle continues between the former warring parties for a dominant narrative about the responsibility for the crimes committed some 30 years ago. The criminal justice narrative cre-ated by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) dominates the transitional narratives about the Yugoslav wars. Criminal justice trials revolve around individual perpetrators; and the judgments and verdicts – convictions or acquittals - test the expecta-tions of justice. Transitional narratives based on the criminal trials are expected to provide clarity on the distinction between “bad” and “good” guys; between perpetrators and victims; between the criminal plan of the perpetrating side and the defensive response of the victim’s side. It is not uncommon that both sides - the victims and the perpetrators – ex-press dissatisfaction with the justice outcome depending on the verdict. With the passage of time, all transitional narratives will be challenged by post-transitional narratives, launched by various societal and politi-cal actors for different reasons with specific objectives behind them. For example, the ruling post-conflict elites can decide to create a post-tran-sitional narrative in which they will try to re-interpret or counter the existing transitional narratives with the goal to exonerate the policies
1 Nevenka Tromp From 2000 to 2012, Nevenka Tromp worked as a Researcher on the Leadership Research Team in the Office of Prosecutor (OTP) at the Internatio-nal Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where she was principal researcher on history and politics in the trial of Slobodan Milošević. Tromp teaches at the University of Amsterdam since 1992 and Webster University (Leiden) since 2018. She publishes on the transitional justice She is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Geoffrey Nice Foundation on Law, History, Politics, and Society in the Context of Mass Atrocities.
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of the predecessor regime that led to the violence by reintroducing the “politics of the past” into the “politics of the present” in the perusal of the still to be achieved political objectives of the predecessor regime. Using the example of the ICTY genocide judgments, this article will explore how its already flawed transitional narrative of genocide has been further undermined by the post-transitional narratives launched by the Serbian postconflict elites in the perusal of the unfulfilled strategic goals of the predecessor regimes.
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Academic, prof. dr. Suad Kurtćehajić1
GENOCIDE IN SREBRENICA AND LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOR THE INSTITUTIONS OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
Abstract:Verdict of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague from
26 February 2007, in paragraph 297, states that the act of genocide were committed by members of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) in and around Srebrenica, starting from 13 July 1995. This Verdict called into question the existence of Republika Srpska as well as the Dayton Peace Agreement due to violation of IUS COGENS norm contained in Article 53 of Vienna Law Convention Treaty of 1969, which in its content pro-hibits genocide, therefore any international treaty that in the time of its conclusion violated this norm, is considered as void.
Given the fact that thirteen years after this verdict, Republika Srpska as formation responsible for genocide still exists, and that the Dayton Peace Agreement that constituted it is still in force, a legal way to abolish it is to address the International Court of Justice in the Hague with the Request for Advisory Opinion on whether Republika Srpska, responsible for genocide in and around Srebrenica, should be abolished. Prior to that, it is necessary that one or more sponsoring states of Bosnia and Herzegovina makes a request to the UN General Assembly to, after successful voting, forward it to the International Court of Justice in The Hague as Request for Advisory Opinion.
Although the opinion of the International Court of Justice is not binding, it would still rely on verdict from the same body and represent kind of concretization of verdict with the clear message to which whole civilized world could not remain passive: everything that was created based on genocide should be abolished.
Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, IUS CO-GENS, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, genocide, Verdict, Advisory Opinion, UN General Assembly
1 Academic, prof. dr. Suad Kurtćehajić, Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo.
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Dr. Enis Omerović1
DESTRUCTION OF RELIGIOUS SITES AS A WAR CRIME OR AS EVIDENCE OF GENOCIDAL INTENT?
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the interrelation of war crimes and the crime of genocide. Author analyzes protection of religious sites in (international) armed conflict from international humanitarian law perspective, their destruction as a war crime from international criminal law perspective, and seeks to answer whether the destruction of religious sites could be considered as evidence of genocidal intent and whether the destruction of religion can be equated with destruction of a religious group? Firstly, we will discuss the notion and the function of the protection of cultural property during an (international) armed conflict, which is provided for in international law. In this respect most relevant international documents will be taken into account, notably, the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Intentional destruction of cultural property may also meet the definition of a war crime under Article 8 of the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court where this judicial body in 2016 found Ahmad al-Mahdi guilty of the war crime of intentionally directing attacks against historic monuments and buildings dedicated to religion in June and July 2012 in Timbuktu, Mali, which, therefore, represents a very first international trial of an individual for heritage destruction. We will also analyze the notion of a term of “cultural cleansing” following the findings and the conclusions of the Group of Experts for Cambodia, where it was stated, amongst other things, that the destruction of the Buddhist took the form of “cultural” rather than “physical” genocide and that the purpose was to destroy the religion, not to destroy physically its followers. According to these understandings, is cultural genocide beyond the scope of the 1948 Genocide Convention? The 2007 International Court of Justice judgment
1 Dr. Enis Omerović, Faculty of Law, University of Zenica.
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in the Bosnian Genocide case is also to be analyzed in this regard as well as the jurisprudence of two ad hoc international criminal tribunals, for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, respectively. The central dilemma in the paper is whether destruction of museums of a group, its libraries, its historical archives, its monuments, its religious sites, could, along with other evidence, show the intent to destroy the group? In conclusion, the author assesses whether it is sustainable in theory and practice to claim that there is no significant difference between physical and cultural/social destruction, and between destruction of a religion and destruction of a religious group?
Keywords: religious sites, cultural property, war crime, genocide, cultural genocide, genocidal intent
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Omer Merzić1
BRITISH REPORTING ON THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE
Abstract:
From the middle of the 19th century, the Great Britain was interested in the events in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their interest grew especially in the 70s of 19th century, when the European part of the Ottoman Empire became turbulent and numerous uprisings took place. Since then, the British interest has not abated, there have only been periods when they have been more interested than usual. This was also the case with the period of aggression against Bosnia, especially when crimes took place during the war. One of the indicators of their interest in Bosnia is that in the period from the beginning of 1992 to the end of 1995, about 1.000 articles related to Srebrenica were published in English newspapers. Of those 1.000 articles, about half were created after the genocide in July 1995, until the end of the year. This paper aims to present the way in which the largest and best-selling newspapers in the UK presented the events in Srebrenica in those fateful moments and how their approach to Srebrenica and genocide developed as time went on.
Keywords: British newspapers, reporting, genocide, Srebrenica
1 Omer Merzić, BA graduate student at Goldsmiths University London.
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Dr. Sabina Veladžić1
WOMEN IN DISCOURSE AND WOMEN’S DISCOURSE IN BOSNIAK-MUSLIM RELIGIOUS AND ETHNOCULTURAL
MEDIA PLATFORMS PREPOROD, MUSLIMANSKI GLAS AND LJILJAN 1989-1995
Abstract:
During the late 1980s with the Movement of imams, the Islamic com-munity started experiencing internal turmoil that will prepare this, as some stated the only Bosniak ethnic institution, for the upcoming dem-ocratic changes in the state. The Islamic community and its members played an important role in providing logistic support and preparing for the political victory of the Bosniak-Muslim political elite gathered around the Party of democratic action. During this restructuring of the Islamic community, a new editorial board, close to the forming Bos-niak-Muslim political structures that will shape the socio-political and ideological life of Bosniaks, was placed at the head of Preporod in 1989. This publication, since its beginnings dealt with important and current ethnocultural questions concerning the Bosniaks. In other words, the Islamic community, that somewhat underwent personnel restructuring, during the late 1980 and early 1990, emerged on the socio-political arena and made its resources, including the media, available to the actors that will shape new socio-political and ideological paradigm in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to internal conflict, during 1991. the editorial board of Preporod will form Muslimanski glas, and during the next year, due to the rapid process of constituting the ethnocultural and national awareness of Bosniak elite, the publication Ljiljan. All three publications served as a space for politically aligned members of the editorial boards to present their views of the socio-political reality and the democratic changes, the anticipated religious and ethnocultural renewal, ethnic conflicts, political
1 Dr. Sabina Veladžić, senior research associate, Institute for history, University of Sarajevo
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crisis, and finally, the war. Regarding this media space and said con-text, the author is interested in the role and importance that was given to women as members of the religious and ethnocultural community, visual and symbolic and other discourse that present women, both created by women and dominantly by men, and finally if and in what way women contributed to the media presentation of the difficult socio-political con-text of the years 1989-1995?
Keywords: women/men, marriage, family, patriarchy, private/public, nationalism, war, Islam, politics, rape, Preporod, Muslimanski glas, Ljil-jan
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PANEL IV
SOCIO-POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE
GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS
Presiding Committee: Faik Uzunović
Fikret Bečirović
Dr. Omer Ibrahimagić1
THREE MESSAGES OF SREBRENICA
Abstract:
By the end of May 1995, The New York Times writes about the two Pentagon analysts for international military affairs. According to their ‘unofficial’ opinion, in order to avoid infinity of the war in Bosnia, Bos-nian Government should concede three UN protected areas in Bosnian Podrinje to Serbs, while in return, the Serbs should concede Sarajevo and its surrounding to the Bosnian Government. Not even a month later Serb Army initiated such a scenario by commencing the removal of the UN observation posts in order to occupy Srebrenica. After the fall of Srebrenica, while the full measures of crimes that were to be charac-terized subsequently by the verdict of the ICTY in 2007 as the crime of genocide, I published an analytical comment titled “Three Messages of Srebrenica” from July 15 to 17 in Oslobođenje daily paper.
What are these three messages of Srebrenica? First message is that the Organization of the UN betrayed its demilitarized and protected area. Second message is that the institutions of the international community could not be reliable in the field, and that they should not be unreservedly trusted. Third was the message to state institutions: in order to avoid the destiny of Srebrenica for the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, they should rather rely more on the commitment of Bosnian patriots to defend their state and homes than on the expectation of assistance of hypocritical international community.
I submit this text to the judgment of this International Scientific Con-ference on Genocide in Srebrenica since it might turn to be more up to date than when it was originally published, 25 years ago.
Keywords: Srebrenica, international community, betrayal, unreliabil-ity,
1 Dr. Omer Ibrahimagić, emeritus Faculty of Political Science.
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Prof. dr. Rasim Muratović1
Doc. dr. Ermin Kuka2
PAIN- THE CENTRAL PHENOMENON OF HUMAN EXISTENCE
Abstract:
Many will claim that life without pain is not a life. Yet, pain makes life so much harder to bear. In its fullness, pain takes life away from the present moment leading it into a longing for a time of its absence (even if this would mean the end of life itself). If life is defined by pain, is it worth living? After all, we may not be experiencing pain in every moment, but every moment carries a potentiality for pain. While its pres-ence may vary from person to person, we all share this intimate expo-sure and vulnerability to pain and it is a part of what defines us as hu-mans. How we deal with pain on an individual level is not entirely in our control. Culture and the society, we are embedded in, provide us with the vocabulary for communicating pain and the stance on its value. The question then arises: How do we treat pain on a cultural and individu-al level? Bodily, sensory pain is perceived spontaneously, directly. Our bodies and their senses make us vulnerable to pain as well as susceptible to the pleasures of its opposites. Pain is defined as exclusively negative making our attitude one of resistance and the desire to be rid of it. This is, in itself, a result of a historically and culturally shaped vision. Simultane-ously with avoiding it, however, we encourage and stimulate it, we seek it and it fascinates us. In any case, there is no indifference in or towards pain. When we are the ones inflicting it (torture, sadism), usually we seek explanations and further insight into this behavior. This paper aims
1 Rasim Muratović, Associate Professor, Scientific Adviser at the Institute for Re-search of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo.
2 Ermin Kuka, Assistant Professor, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo.
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to provide this insight. Torture and sadism, extreme forms of inflicting pain, were one of the instruments of committing genocide of Bosniaks in Srebrenica, July 1995. Our general conclusion is that pain, especially in its extreme form, cannot be perceived as anything other than pure nega-tivity of human suffering.
Keywords: pain, torture, evil, sadism, victim, culture, Srebrenica
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Emir Ramić1
AN OVERVIEW OF THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE CULTURE OF MEMORY
Abstract:
Overview of the institutionalization of the culture of remembrance regarding the aggression on the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the genocide against its citizens, mostly Bosniaks, with a special focus on the effective possibilities for requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice regarding the question:
“Is the existence of Republika Srpska as an entity in Bosnia and Her-zegovina, as established by article 1 of Annex 4 to the Dayton Peace Agreement, whose organs – the Army of Republika Srpska and the Po-lice of Republika Srpska, have, alongside the military and political top officials, committed the gravest breaches of the Geneva conventions and customs of war as well as the grave breaches of international human-itarian law thus breaking international ius cogens, in accordance with international law? ”
1 Emir Ramić, Genocide Research Institute of Canada.
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Prof. dr. Faik Uzunović1
M.A. Zakira Mulaomerović2
Title of the paper: AN ATTEMPT TO DESCRIBE EXAMPLES, ROLES AND DUTIES OF BH DIPLOMACY IN RELATION TO
THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE
Abstract:
This paper is partly a description of an attempt of an example, and partly a contribution in a position what would be a role and the duties of BH diplomacy concerning THE GENOCIDE IN SREBRENICA. In this paper it is described the attempt of one ambassador of BiH (Bosnia and Herzegovina), to get prepared properly for his duty, and to animate important international expert circles in research-enlightening activities related to the crime of genocide, which happened in BiH war 1992-1995. That example is concerned with the animation of the international rele-vant experts in this field, but also BiH citizens who lived earlier, or live in the country of destination, as well as relevant institutions and associa-tions of BiH citizens in the country of destination, and from BiH.
Keywords: BiH diplomacy, genocide in Srebrenica, animation of the international experts
1 Prof. dr. Faik Uzunović, University of Zenica.2 Mr. Zakira Mulaomerović, University of Zenica.
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Dr. Fikret Bečirović1
THE EXTENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE DEVASTATED DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE BOSNIAN PODRINJE
Abstract:In order to territorially expand and create a homogeneous demographic
picture, ethnic cleansing and genocide against the non-Serb population of Podrinje was prepared first in academic, then in military circles, in our neighboring country of Serbia. The goal was to ethnically cleanse (brutally remove) the Bosniak population in every possible way from an area that covers at least fifty kilometers from the Drina River to the central part of BiH. The ethnic cleansing of that area from non-Serbs also had the intention of a “final showdown” with the undesirable, unpopular element, the remnants of the Turkish conqueror, as they labeled the Bosniak corps. Thus, the first aggressor strikes began on the eastern border and during April 1992, the entire Podrinje area was occupied, with great destruction, expulsions, imprisonment, terrorism and the cruelest crimes that reached their peak with the Srebrenica genocide. Permanent crimes and complete ethnic cleansing throughout the war period completely devastated the pre-war demographic picture of the entire Bosnian Podrinje area.
In this paper, we will analyze the causes, extent and consequences of the devastated demographic picture in 10 Podrinje municipalities, comparing the post-war census from 2013 with the pre-war census from 1991. Comparative analysis will show that war destruction, crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica and other Podrinje municipalities caused large demographic, quantitative and qualitative changes in ethnic structure, gender, age, working age, education, culture and all other segments of life.
Keywords: aggression on BiH, crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing, homogeneous demography, migrations, depopulation, demographic im-balance, demographic consequences
1 Dr. Fikret Bečirović, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo
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Jasmin Medić1
DEMOGRAPHIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST BOSNIAKS IN BOSNIAN KRAJINA
IN 1992-1995
Abstract:
The genocide against Bosniaks, according to eminent scientists and genocide researchers, culminated in Srebrenica in July 1995. This, the most serious form of crime against humanity began in the first year of the armed aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In his presentation, the author will talk about the crimes committed against Bosniaks in the Bosnian Krajina (in the area of the unilaterally declared Autonomous Region of Krajina) and the demographic consequences in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Keywords: Genocide, Bosnian Krajina, crimes, demography, perse-cution, Autonomous Region Krajina
1 Jasmin Medić, Institute for History, University of Sarajevo.
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Mr. Faruk Đozić1
PRINCIPLES OF CONSTITUTIVE EFFECT AND PUBLIC TRUST IN THE PROCESS OF CONSTITUTING THE
CADASTER OF REPUBLIKA SRPSKA
Abstract:
Constituting the Cadaster, a unified system of data on real properties and information about holders of possession rights to the real proper-ties implies that the data from land registries will no longer be public. Law on Survey and Cadaster of Republika Srpska left the administration in charge of constituting the cadaster, providing for court jurisdiction only in the case a party actively denies a right inscribed into the cadas-ter. Other than leaving the administration in charge of the cadaster, this law has limited judicial decision-making regarding property rights thus leaving room for manipulation notably concerning property rights of re-turnees, refugees, and displaced persons. Principles of constitutive effect and public trust, valid through the previous system, have been breached despite being included in the new legal framework by the administration through the Rulebook on the manner of establishing and maintaining the real estate cadaster of Republika Srpska. Establishing cadaster in such a way opens the possibility of annulment of rights inscribed in land reg-istries and the possibility for the persons who are not in fact owners to inscribe themselves as such based on the factual state of affairs.
Keywords: cadaster of the real estate, land registries, principle of constitutive effect, the principle of public thrust, ownership, Republika Srpska
1 Mr. Faruk Đozić, RS Council of Peoples.
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Esad Džudžo1
BOSNIAKCIDE / GENOCIDE OF BOSNIAKS/ CONSEQUENC-ES IN SANDŽAK
Abstract:
The genocide in Srebrenica committed in July 1995 represents the last act of the intention to, fully or partially; annihilate the Bosniak nation, especially in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is a process lasting for more than one hundred years. This work is concerned with the reflections and the consequences of that war crime in the Sandjak region. This work will also be an attempt to introduce the term Bosniakcide as an adequate designation for this horrific crime against the Bosniak nation, following the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide from 1948 and motivated by the word Holocaust coined to describe the suffering of the Jewish people during World War II.
Keywords: Genocide, Bosniaks, Sanjak, show trials, state terrorism.
1 Esad Džudžo, Center for Bosniak studies, Tutin.
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Dr. Élisabeth Anstett1
SREBRENICA AT THE HEART OF THE “FORENSIC TURN”. COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF 25 YEARS OF RESEARCH IN
THE FIELD OF GENOCIDE STUDIES.
Abstract:
To a great extent, studies conducted on mass crimes for the past 25 years have been shaped by violence committed against Bosniaks during the last war. The Srebrenica case alone, not to speak about Višegrad or Prijedor ones, stands as an unavoidable element of comparison for any research led in the field of genocide studies on events of mass killing. Moreover, studies conducted on Srebrenica have opened new fields of research that have in return shed a renewed light on most of the 20th cen-tury’s genocides and mass crimes. The intensity and complexity of per-petrated violence (revealed, in the case of Srebrenica’s genocide, by the use of secondary and tertiary mass graves (Jugo & Wastells, 2015)) have indeed led to the massive presence of forensic anthropologists, which in turn has resulted in the study of mass graves as a new topic in itself.
Thus, the many issues surrounding the territoriality and spatial expan-sion of violence have contributed to the development of studies devoted to mass grave mapping, bringing for example the Blinken Open Society Archives to create a map of mass grave openings and exhumations in BiH (see link below). This initiative has taken place in the broader scope of a global attention paid to mass violence mapping. The importance of this scope is revealed by various academic research projects focused on a single genocide such as the Cambodian Genocide Program Interac-tive Geographic Database (CGEO, see link below) developed since the end of the 1990 at Yale University, but also by various State and Public initiatives such as the one conducted by the Spanish Ministry of Justice in order to map all the mass graves of the civil war and Francoist period (see link below).
1 Dr. Élisabeth Anstett, Université d’Aix-Marseille France.
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On the other hand, the technical issues surrounding Bosniak victims’ identification and the key role played in the Bosnian case by DNA have contributed to the development of studies conducted on exhumations and their social impact in various field of knowledge such as forensic anthropology (Hanson, 2016) and social anthropology (Wagner, 2008). The ethical and political issues (Haimes & Toom, 2014) raised by DNA collection and storing in contexts of mass violence in Argentina and Lat-in America (Robben, 2015; Schwartz-Marin & Cruz-Santiago, 2018) as much as in Spain and Europe at large (Ferrandiz, 2006; Palomo-Diez et al. 2019; Sturdy-Colls, 2018) have for their part given birth to the - now much discussed - notion of “necropolitics” (Ferrandiz & Robben, 2015).
In this context my paper will more precisely address the issue of the place occupied by the Bosnian case in the comparative researches led on mass crime. What prominence is conferred to Srebrenica’s genocide? What role does this particular example play in the work of comparison? Building upon a set of comparative studies conducted these last 25 years, my paper aims at demonstrating that Srebrenica, as well as Višegrad and Prijedor cases, remain paradigmatic examples for the study of the “fo-rensic turn” (Anstett & Dreyfus, 2015; Dziuban, 2017), enabling geno-cide scholars to shed a new light on pattern of mass crime perpetration, and subsequently to open new avenues in research conducted in the field of Holocaust and Genocide studies.
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Doc. dr. Omer Gabela1,
Mr. Edin Malkić2,
CONTINUITY OF DEPENDENCE OF SCIENTIFIC THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR SUCCESSFUL GENOCIDE RESEARCH
IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Abstract:
The biggest and most serious crime is the crime of genocide. Precise-ly because of the severity and complexity of genocide, as a social and security phenomenon, its research must be approached with special care and with the application of scientific theoretical and methodological pro-cedures and concepts. In that way, modern scientific-theoretical knowl-edge and insights based on their concretization are obtained in empirical research of the crime of genocide.
Namely, only through a continuous combination of scientific theo-ry and practice we can gain valid and adequate knowledge about the crime of genocide, its essential characteristics manifested through var-ious forms and methods of execution. If there is a dysfunction of the combination of scientific theory and practice, it will inevitably affect the results of research, regardless of the type of research, whether it is sci-entific, professional-methodical or specifically operational research. In order for such phenomena not to occur, it is necessary to critically and in-depth consider the previous theoretical-empirical research in order to understand the stated problems and overcome possible problems that may arise because the practice does not follow the theory. On the other hand, the interdependence and interdependence of theory and practice
1 Doc. dr. sci. Omer Gabela, employed in the State Investigation and Protection Agency - SIPA, East Sarajevo, BiH; engaged as a teacher at the University “Vitez” from Vitez.
2 Mr. sci. Edin Malkić, employed in the State Investigation and Protection Agency - SIPA, East Sarajevo, BiH; student of the III cycle (doctoral) study at the Faculty of Law, University of Travnik.
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is not easy to see. If the separation from each other is real, spatial and temporal, then there is no unity between them, which leaves a trace on the success of the research and the results obtained on the actual scale of the crime of genocide.
Keywords: genocide, theory, scientific theory, research, scientific re-search, practice.
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Dr. Mirsad Cvrk1
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THEIR VIOLATION IN BIH - THE CASE OF SREBRENICA
Abstract:
In the post-war period, human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina were established in the Dayton Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the constitutions of the entities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herze-govina and Republika Srpska. The European Convention for the Protec-tion of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms under the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina has primacy over national legislation in the field of human rights protection.
The exercise of human rights and freedoms of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Srebrenica area from 2000 to 2010 as guaranteed by the Dayton Peace Agreement and relevant international conventions and other positive instruments for the exercise of human rights has been hindered or impeded especially for Bosniak citizens trying to obtain re-turnee rights.
This study analyzes the forms of human rights violations in Srebren-ica between 1996 and 2020. Based on the analysis suggestions for inte-gral institutional reforms in order to ensure the rights of returnees are provided.
Keywords: human rights- rule of law- Srebrenica-Bosnia and Herze-govina-Europe
1 Dr. Mirsad Cvrk, High School of Metal Professions Sarajevo.
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Doc. dr. Ermin Kuka1
Hamza Memišević2
GETOIZATION OF GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS - IN THE CONTEXT OF TIME AND SPACE
Abstract:
The commemoration of the genocide against Bosniaks only in the area of Srebrenica can be interpreted as a way to ghettoize the genocide and accept that the genocide against Bosniaks committed in the peri-od 1992-1995 is reduced to a local level. Reducing genocide to just six days in July 1995 is a kind of trap. The genocide against Bosniaks in the Srebrenica area cannot be separated from the genocide committed between 1992 and 1995 in all occupied cities and cities under siege. The perpetrators of the Srebrenica genocide are the same structures that com-mitted genocide in the rest of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Greater Serbia policy, inspired by ideology, which aims to extermi-nate the Bosniak population and annex Bosnian territory to neighbor-ing Serbia, pursued a genocidal policy towards the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosniaks continuously in the period from 1992 to 1995. The goals of this paper are to show the genocidal character of the aggressive war against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to point out the mistake, which is reflected in the physical and temporal ghettoization of the genocide against Bosniaks.
Keywords: ghettoization, genocide, Srebrenica, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosniaks
1 Ermin Kuka, Assistant Professor, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo.
2 Hamza Memišević, MA student, Faculty of Political Science, University of Saraje-vo.
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Medina Adanalić1
SUICIDAL POST GENOCIDE
Abstract:
“Neque ea quae sentio audeam neque ea quae non sentio, velim scribere.”, which in translation means: “I don’t have the courage to write about what I think, and I also don’t want to write what I dont’ think.”
Twenty-five years after the genocide against Muslims in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the same number of years was followed by the birth of the social phenomenon of suicidal genocide, as well as its development and strengthening. Due to its complexity and structure, Bosnian society in the literature so far has always looked like a sort of utopia. Before and after the war, academics know that, no author of Serbian origin has ever written a single line of text about the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a special way of life, that is, a social harmony among the differences characteristic for three peoples, which are majority represented(?). As for the literature, by authors of Muslim origin, many books have been written about how Bosnia and Herzegovina is a valuable example, not for “life next door” but “life together” of tree peoples of different origins, religious affiliations and their traditions(?) - (yes, even after the war such books have been published). Isn’t it then a pure utopia to believe both ways? - Of course it is. It is possible to understand what Serbian authors are trying to do with their authorial engagement... But the meaning disappears when it comes to thinking about why Muslim authors emphasize “living together” so much in their works, and with those who committed genocide against the people they come from(?). Do they do it out fear that the same accident would happen again or out of naivety? A lie is not valuable even if it serves peace! Relations between peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not good. Those relationships are devastatingly bad! A crazy belief in progress, without that progress
1 Medina Adanalić, student of Faculty of Philosophy University of Tuzla.
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being built on a secure foundation, is the same as building a tower of cards in a room where a window is opened. The mentioned “foundation” is rhetorical trap that reads “leave what happened behind; look ahead and do not turn to the past”, “open window” is the never surpassed idea of a greater Serbia (which still lives today!) in the minds of Serbs and in the minds of Bosnian Serb Orthodox who call themselves Serbs. Suicidal genocide refers to Muslims living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who now use various methods, partly consciously – partly not, to raise their hand against themselves. They do this by allowing and even participating in the disruption of educational institutions, by watching with their own eyes how the medical system is failing, and by allowing them to feel insecure in their homeland, because the military and police that defends and protect people do not belong to the people, (no!) they are under the full control of a few persons in the government or their “extended arms”, just like the previously mentioned two segments. If education, health and welfare stagnate in one country, then what will happen? – The collapse of the same country! And that collapse, which is so tragic, is very close. How do you know when it’s “close”? – People have accepted the situation as it is, and the same people know – the situation is not good! A scary sight... How the Bosnian Muslims got into the mentioned situation will be explained through the mentioned topic. The aim is not only to clarify the given problem – suicidal genocide, but to think about it at a higher level in the near future, maybe make it a study (a job for the brave!) and to make the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina an example of “how to” not “how not to” act. Because throughout history, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been nothing more than its people in a certain period of time. Bosnia and Herzegovina is in a bad state today(?) – Good, but first of all we need to answer the question: What is its current population like that represents it and by this representation (acting in the direction of improving their own lives) sending a picture to the rest of the world?
Keywords: Suicidal genocide, general culture, scholarship, acad-emy, “tree-headed” presidency, anarchy territory, laws, the fate of the oppressed, the fate of tyrants, (non)democracy, revolution or war, rees-tablishment of power, a new beginning.
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Mensur Pavica1,
A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH TO CAUSES, EXTENT AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE GENOCIDE AGAINST
BOSNIAKS – SREBRENICA 1995-2020
Abstract:
The approach to genocide, its causes, scale and consequences, from the point of view of philosophical anthropology, is a requirement set be-fore itself by the author of this paper.
The author’s opinion is that genocide does not leave the nature of the human species unchanged, but that it fundamentally changes it, and hu-man civilization itself as well.
According to the author’s opinion, the changes are so radical and fundamental that it is justified to ask the question whether human civilization has survived at all?
In this paper, from the point of view of philosophical anthropology, the following questions are going to be dealt with:
1) What are the possible causes of genocide against Bosnians, and what are the possible causes of all genocides in general?
2) What are the possible extents of genocide against Bosnians, and what are the possible extents of all genocides in general?
3) What are the possible consequences of genocide against Bos-nians, and what are the possible consequences of all genocides in general?
4) Is ethics subordinate or superior to international law, i.e. is gen-ocide, which is not adjudicated, given that genocide is a term of international law, genocide at all or not?
1 Mensur Pavica, student at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tuzla.
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5) Is forgiving genocide a duty or freedom of choice of each vic-tim individually, or is forgiveness of genocide inadmissible, and is forgiving genocide a duty or free choice of every nation over which genocide has been committed or is forgiveness of genocide inadmissible?
6) What is the anthropological status of the individual who was sen-tenced to genocide, given that he committed the most inhumane of all acts that completely denies human nature and that proves the absolute failure of the process of socialization of the individual?
7) Is the one who participates in one of the 10 phases of genocide a participant in the genocide and should he be punished, as well as the one who participates in the phase of “extermination”?
8) What is the ultimate goal of ethics and do we as a human species approach that ultimate goal of ethics or do we move away from it?
9) Is civilization, from an ethical point of view, dead or alive?
10) Does genocide pay off or not and what can we say about civili-zation and the human race in the context of international law, if within it genocide still pays off?
11) Is it possible to prevent genocide at all, and if so, how do we pre-vent it?
12) Given that there is a discipline called the sociology of genocide, does it make sense to have a discipline called “philosophy of gen-ocide” and if so, what should its task be?
Keywords: Genocide, philosophical anthropology, civilization, death of civilization, ethics, categorical imperative, domination, philosophy of genocide
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Mr. Amila Svraka-Imamović1
GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS AS A FORM OF STRUGGLE AGAINST “ISLAMIC RADICALISM”
Abstract:
During the mid-1980s, warnings from Muslims that their communi-ties were being prepared for gas chambers were increasingly heard in Europe. One of them was Shabbir Akhtar, a university professor who said in an article published in The Guardian in 1989 that: “The next time we see gas chambers again in Europe, there is no doubt who will be in them”. The genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina seems to have confirmed the worst fears of Muslims. Twenty-five years later, genocide is not being only denied, but this terrible crime is also being justified as a fight against the terrorism and as a suppression of growing jihad in this part of Europe. Namely, the image of Serbs as the first perpetrators of genocide after the Holocaust in Europe had remained until September 11, 2001. Determined to remove this image, nationalist Serbian and Cro-atian journalists, academics and politicians realized that they too could follow the rest of the world in the fight against “Islamic radicalism” and win much-needed friends in Europe and the United States.
Keywords: genocide, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosniaks, terrorism, aggression, Islamophobia
1 Mr. Amila Svraka-Imamović, University of Sarajevo – Faculty of Law.
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Mr. Lamija Muftić1,
POST-CONFLICT MEMORIALIZATION: LESSONS FROM THE MEMORIAL CENTER POTOČARI
Abstract:
After mass and grave breaches of human rights, the societies are faced with their consequences that can be felt strongly even decades later, as the Bosnian example shows. Building a democratic society in their af-termath engages numerous mechanisms with fact and truth-finding as an inevitable starting point. What do we remember and how do we remem-ber it are points of contention in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose society has yet to reach a basic consensus on facts regarding the 1992-1995 war on its territory. In this paper, I analyze the Memorial Center Potočari in the context of transitional justice regarding it as a manifestation of both the right to truth and part of the reparations. I aim to underline the im-portance of memorialization and marking the places of mass and grave crimes. This paper is written on the occasion of both the 25 years since the genocide in Srebrenica, whose memorial has become a symbol for the suffering of Muslims during the war, and denialism of crimes com-mitted.
Keywords: memorialization, right to truth, reparations, Memorial Center Potočari
1 Lamija Muftić, Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law, University of Sarajevo.
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Jasmina Zagorica1,
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE
Abstract:
Extreme living conditions and traumatic events imposed by aggression and siege, which changed the lifestyle of the survivors of the Srebrenica genocide in a social and emotional sense, have left deep consequences for new generations as well. Early or late trauma affected the social and emotional component of the lives of the survivors, as well as their fam-ilies. The appearance of subjective socio-emotional problems, and the characteristic symptoms that accompany such traumas, in the surviving victims appear long after the survival of the Srebrenica genocide. Such socio-emotional traumas are passed on to new generations, descendants of surviving victims, who were not even born at the time of the genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica. The emergence of traumatization and its implications long after the trauma experienced, has become one of the primary problems among a number of others to which new generations are exposed. An analysis of the testimonies of genocide survivors and the results of therapeutic analyzes will show how the traumatic events left a deeply engraved mark on the socio-emotional lives of genocide victims and their family members.
Keywords: Srebrenica, genocide, socio-emotional aspects, trauma, survivors, family
1 Jasmina Zagorica, University of Sarajevo - Institute for Research of Crimes against Humanity and International Law.
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As part of the International Scientific Conference “GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS, SREBRENICA 1995-2020: Causes, extent and consequences”, a thematic exhibition by the academic painter Irfan Hose was set up.
Irfan Hozo, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo and became a professor of fine arts. He wrote his master’s thesis at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sarajevo on June 19, 2006 and obtained the title of Master of Graphics. He has a master’s degree in “Techne as a creative dimension of graphic expression”. Since 1987, he has been recognized as a freelance artist. He has exhibited in many solo exhibitions in Vienna, Rome, Madrid, Granada, S. Sebastian, Eibar, Trento, Kederžin, Dubrovnik, Subotica, Zemun, Senj, Cetinje, Zenica, etc. In addition to many solo exhibitions, he has also exhibited in many group exhibitions in many galleries. Europe and the world. He was twice elected president of the Association of Fine Artists of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Winner of numerous recognitions and awards both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and beyond. Winner of 3 awards for graphics of the Association of Fine Artists of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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The International Scientific Conference “GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAKS, SREBRENICA 1995-2020: Causes, extent and consequences” opens with the composition “White Flower”, authored by Elvir Solak and the prima donna of the Sarajevo Philharmonic, Aida Čorbadžić.
Elvir Solak
Author of music and lyrics of the song “White Flower”, member of the Opera Choir, National Theater Sarajevo solo guitar
He wrote the song in June 2018 as a token of gratitude to the people from the organization
“Remembering Srebrenica” who work throughout the UK for Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by mr. Waqar Azmi who has given, and continues to give, selfless support to all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, espe-cially in memory of the victims in Srebrenica.
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White Flower(Music and text by Elvir Solak)
Oh my darling mother, don’t you cry those tearsI see you standing near my gravesite after all these years
Every tear you cry, every tear you sheda white flower’s born, from the ground below you
Please don’t cry dear mother, save yourself the tearsin your aching heart mother, I’ll forever live
Mother dear, oh mother, you’re my life, my worldsafe inside your soul mother, this white flower’s blooming
This white flower grew, bathed by your tearsborn from your own pain, heartache and your sadness
I hear your every word, every prayer to Godevery single whisper, and every cry you let out
Please don’t cry dear mother, save yourself the tearsin your aching heart mother, I’ll forever live
Mother dear, oh mother, you’re my life, my worldsafe inside your soul mother, this white flower’s blooming
Keeper of my soul, Bosnia’s your homeevery tearful night brings a promising new dawn
Dear God, my savior, the only who guides megive me strength and reason, return my heart to my body
Please don’t cry dear mother, save yourself the tearsin your aching heart mother, I’ll forever live
Mother dear, oh mother, you’re my life, my worldsafe inside your soul mother, this white flower’s blooming
This white flower’s blooming
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Aida Čorbadžić is a soprano and champion of the Sarajevo National Theater Opera.
She graduated in 2006 at the Music Academy in Sarajevo, in the class of prof. Pasha Gackic. She won a special award at the first post-war competition of secondary music schools in Bugojno. She was a scholarship holder of the Sarajevo Canton, CEE Musiktheatra (Central & Eastern
European Musiktheater) from Vienna, Baroque Academy in Gmunden (Austria).
As a soloist, she has performed several times with the Sarajevo Philhar-monic Orchestra throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Turkey, Abania, and Austria.
Roles:
• Dijete (I.Čavlović – Srebreničanke), Amore (C.W.Gluck – Orfej I Euridika),
• Glas pastira (G.Puccini – Tosca), Adele (J.Strauss – Die Fledermaus), Adina (G.Donizetti – Ljubavni napitak), Musetta (G.Puccini – La Boheme), Sultanija (A.Horozić – Hasanaginica), Aska (A.Horozić – Aska i Vuk), Lauretta (G.Puccini – Gianni Schicchi), Norina (G.Donizetti – Don Pasquale), Oskar (G.Verdi – Bal pod maskama), Lija (Z.Vauda – Ježeva kuća),
• Gilda (G.Verdi – Rigoletto), Frasquita (G.Bizet – Carmen), Violetta Valery (G.Verdi –
• La Traviata), Hanna Glawari (F.Lehar - Vesela udovica), Pamina (W.A.Mozart – Die Zauberflute) , Una voce dal cielo=Glas s neba (G.Verdi – Don Carlo)
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