Bosnian Serbs face trial for Srebrenica genocide
Eleven years after Europe’s largest mass murder since World War Two, there is the prospect of justice for the victims and survivors of the massacre of over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in the UN ‘safe haven’ in Srebrenica.
The trial of seven former Bosnian Serb officers began last month at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. They face a range of charges, including war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The defendants — Vujadin Popovic, Ljubisa Beara, Drago Nikolic, Ljubomir Borovcanin, Radivoje Miletic, Milan Gvero and Vinko Pandurevic — are all pleading not guilty.
The ‘Women of Srebrenica‘ hold a monthly vigil in the hill town of Srebrenica in memory of the mostly men and boys who were marched into the hills, shot and buried in mass graves. Says Hatidža Mehmedović,
"It is hard to live alone. I have carved the names of my sons on the doorstep. And over there are three fir trees reaching into the sky. Instead of watching my children age, I watch these three trees grow strong and tall, imagining my two sons and my husband. I want every mother in Srebrenica to find out the truth. Our children were denied their right to life; we mothers have the right to truth."
They want truth and they want justice. Some are taking legal action against the UN and the Dutch Government whose 400 peacekeepers failed to prevent the massacre.
Six men have already been convicted at the ICTY for their part in the bloodshed at Srebrenica. Further trials relating to the massacre are expected, although Zdravko Tolimir and indicted ‘masterminds’ Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić remain at large.
[…] The Candian NGO Gendercide Watch works to end sex-selective mass killings around the world, whether of females or males. The 1995 Srebrenica massacre, deemed an act of genocide, could also be seen as a case of ‘gendercide’ against men and boys. […]