The Tenth Commemoration of the Srebrenica Genocide

Home , Dutchbat, Eric Markusen, Srebrenica

Samuel Totten

In 1991, following the fall of the Serb forces were the ones who, over the rather than peace enforcement, man- Soviet Union and the end of the Cold years, applied ever-increasing pressure date. Dutchbat attempted to stave off War, the former Yugoslavia began to dis- on the Muslims in Srebrenica (and on the Serbs, but to no avail. Once the area integrate. The country degenerated into the Dutch Battalion, commonly referred fell, the Serbs did as they wished to the conflict between the three major groups— to as “Dutchbat,” charged with protect- Muslims of Srebrenica, including expel- Serbs, Muslims, and Croatians—that ing the safe area) by periodically shell- ling the girls and women, and rounding had lived in peace under dictator Josip ing them and preventing humanitarian up the boys and men to execute them. Broz Tito. In 1993, Serb attacks on assistance from entering the enclave.2 Following Serb orders, Dutchbat Bosnian Muslims increased in eastern As the attacks increased in number even expelled 5,000 people from the Bosnia, and the latter fled their homes and ferocity, NATO authorities dis- Dutchbat battalion headquarters in and villages to seek protection in the cussed the possibility of air strikes Potocari, where many Muslims had fled nearby town of Srebrenica (and a 30- against Serb-held areas. However, many seeking protection. Ultimately, between square-mile area surrounding it), which of the European nations that had con- 7,000 to 8,000 Muslim boys and men had been designated a United Nations- tributed troops to the United Nations were forced from Potocari, taken out sponsored “safe area.” The safe area had peacekeeping force (UNPROFOR) into the woods, lined up, and mur- been developed as a result of Security argued against air strikes, asserting dered. In reality, Srebrenica, some have Council Resolution 819 on April 16, that such attacks would endanger their asserted, became a besieged area not a 1993. The wording of the resolution troops—those on the ground as well as safe area. The genocide in Srebrenica read, in part, as follows: those that were being held hostage by was the largest single act of genocide in ... the Government of the Federal the Serbs. As a result, air strikes were Europe in 50 years, or since the Nazi- Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia not carried out. perpetrated Holocaust. and Montenegro) should imme- The continuous Serb attacks culmi- I was invited by the Bosnian foreign diately, in pursuance of its under- nated in the all-out assault and subse- ministry to attend a 10-year commemo- taking in the Convention on the quent takeover of Srebrenica on July 11, ration of the genocide on July 11, 2005. Prevention and Punishment of 1995. The attack was led by Bosnian It was followed by an international con- Genocide of 9 December 1948, Serb army commander Ratko Mladic, ference in Sarajevo, “The International take all measures within its power Serbian general Radislav Kristic, and Scientific Conference on the Genocide to prevent the commission of the others. Dutchbat was out-manned, against the Bosniaks of UN Safe Area crimes of Genocide.1 under-resourced, and on a sorely lim- Srebrenica in July 1995—Lessons for Subsequently, the UN forged an ited Chapter VII mandate. Chapter Future Generations,” on July 12–14 agreement in which the Muslim troops VII means that a peace operation can 2005. in the enclave of Srebrenica would dis- and must use force when it perceives As I embarked on the long journey arm, the Serbs would halt their attacks that its own safety, or the safety of the from my home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on the enclave, and the UN would over- people it is charged with protecting, is to Sarajevo in Bosnia, I came across see and enforce the cease-fire. in danger; however, Dutchbat’s lim- numerous articles about Srebrenica While both Serbs and Muslims peri- ited Chapter VII mandate constituted in various newspapers, including The odically violated the agreement, the more of a Chapter VI, or peacekeeping, New York Times, the London Financial

M a y / J u n e 2 0 0 6 209 Photo: Totten Photo: Samuel

Tens of thousands gather in Srebrenica-Potocari, Bosnia, on July 11, 2005, to commemorate the victims of the Serb-orchestrated genocide.

Times, and The International Herald Taking a walk into the center of town, remained a shell of its former self. A Tribune. A particularly striking passage I made my way down the street, along beautifully ornate building, its walls in the Financial Times read as follows: what had commonly been referred to as were severely cracked and pocked with Srebrenica remains shattered a “Sniper Alley.” I observed holes in many shell and bullet holes, its windows decade after the killings. Its ethnic walls of businesses and homes where boarded and bricked up, and its col- balance has been altered, appar- they had been sprayed with gunfire and umns collected dust in a heap on the ently irrevocably. Before the hit with shells; the punctures, holes, and ground. A sign on the wall next to its war, the town was home to more gashes ranged from the size of a dime to temporary front door read: than 36,000 people, including a the size of a dinner plate. On the side- On this place Serbian Criminals majority of Bosniaks, as tradition- walks, I periodically came across what in the Night of 25th–26th August, ally Muslim Bosnians are known. are locally known as “Sarajevo Roses,” 1992 Set on Fire National and Today, some 6,000 Serbs com- places where shells had exploded that University’s Library of Bosnia prise the largest element. are now patched up with pink-dyed and Herzegovina. Bosnians complain frequently cement. Over 2 Million Books, Periodicals that the Dayton Accords, signed While most buildings and houses in and Documents Vanished in the to end the Bosnian war just downtown Sarajevo were in use again, Flames months after the killings, froze a good number still stood vacant, win- Do Not Forget the results of ethnic cleansing on dowless, and with gaping holes in roofs Remember and Warn! all sides [thus preventing Bosnian or walls. In some cases, all that was left Inside the gutted library, a tempo- Muslims from returning to their of certain homes were badly damaged rary wood wall encircled the first floor. hometowns].3 frames, or a tangle of twisted metal, and There was a small, but stunning, photog- In Sarajevo, I checked into the Holiday splintered wood resting amongst a pile raphy exhibit on the fate of Srebrenica. Inn, which was constantly bombed dur- of concrete rubble. Among the 30 photographs or so were ing the war and served as a center for the One of Sarajevo’s most cherished shots of young children behind a barbed international press during that period. buildings, the National Library, wire fence; mass graves; family mem-

S o c i a l E d u c a t i o n 210 bers sorting through the bones of their loved ones; items found in mass graves (a toothbrush, a cigarette lighter, and an identity card); and a warehouse filled with hundreds of coffins for individual Photo: Totten Photo: Samuel victims of the Srebrenica genocide. On Monday, July 11, at 5:00 a.m., I and about 70 other scholars and guests aboard three large buses rode through the dark, quiet, and all but deserted streets of Sarajevo enroute to Srebrenica, some two and a half hours away. The buses wound up a two-lane road into the mountains surrounding Sarajevo. Lush with bright green foliage and leafy trees, the mountains were dotted with farms, small communities, and rustic homes with high-pitched roofs. Many of the homes had been patched up and were again inhabited, but around them were destroyed homes, wrecked mosques, and other devastated edifices. Midway to Srebrenica, the number of damaged homes and mosques increased notice- ably. Just as in Sarajevo, most walls were pockmarked with bullets holes. There were also many new homes, some stand- ing next to the rubble of former buildings and homes. On the way to Srebrenica, scholars from Bosnia and from countries such as the United States, Australia, England, Denmark, France, and Germany, discussed the genocide, the failure of the international community to erect truly safe areas during the war, and current life in Bosnia. During the course of the ride, several documentaries on the his- tory and fate of Srebrenica were shown On the 10th anniversary of the genocide, family members dug new graves, such as the on televisions located throughout the one pictured above. The identified remains of a victim killed at Srebrenica in 1995 were bus. One included Serb-produced moved here from a previously hidden, unmarked mass grave. video clips of Ratko Mladic and the Serb forces rounding up the people of under carriages of the buses for bombs, be held. The squad car, its blue, revolv- Srebrenica and taking the men out and opened up the engine compartments ing light illuminated, weaved in and out killing them. A film was also shown and examined them with shining flash- of the traffic ahead of us, often traveling about the trial of General Kristic at the lights, and checked out all of the baggage on the opposite side of the road, where International Criminal Tribunal for the compartments. Fifteen minutes later, the the oncoming traffic had already been Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), at which he buses proceeded up the winding moun- pulled over by other police officers. was found guilty of genocide. tain road. Thirty miles later, we came Individual Serb police officers stood At the turnoff to Srebrenica, our buses to a roadblock manned by local and stoically along the roadway at half- were pulled over by the Serbian National national Serb police officers. mile intervals, staring at our buses as Police and directed to a huge parking lot. From that point onward, we received we passed. I later overheard a Bosnian There, the police, using small mirrors a police escort up the mountain to Muslim comment bitterly, “What was on the tips of long poles, checked the Potocari, where the ceremony was to the purpose of placing hundreds of

M a y / J u n e 2 0 0 6 211 police along the road today? Do they We were given a short presentation make their way toward the newly dug fear an attack by all the Muslims who by Dr. Amor Masovic, president of graves. Beyond, in a large field, lay are going to honor their dead that [the the ICMP, on the purpose of the inter- scores of graves, all hand dug by the police officers’] comrades killed?” national committee, its methodology, survivors’ families. Women in brightly Shortly, we came to a crossroads— and its findings. He informed us that colored scarves sat or stood beside their which, I was told, was the point where more than 200 bodies were included in lost loved ones. A small, green, coffin- the Serbs who took over Srebrenica in this particular mass grave, and that the shaped wood head “stone” was fixed July 1995 had transported the Muslim forensic anthropologists were creating a at the front of each grave. The victim’s men and boys they had forced onto map indicating where each skull, partial name, hometown, birth date, and date buses in Srebrenica, and subsequently skeleton, and bone was initially discov- of killing was printed inside a black oval locked them in a school building prior ered. Eventually, DNA tests would be at the top of each headstone. to executing them. Shortly thereafter, we conducted in an attempt to ascertain the Dignitaries, such as Richard reached Potocari, located just outside of identity of the person whose bones had Holbrooke, former U.S. assistant secre- Srebrenica, where Dutchbat had main- been found. tary of state under the Clinton adminis- tained its headquarters. After the talk, we returned to the tration; Pierre Prosper, the U.S. ambas- An estimated 50,000 people were mini buses for the ride back down the sador-at-large for war crimes; and Jack expected at the commemoration, and hill. Upon our return to the former Straw, British secretary of state for for- as we pulled up to the former Dutchbat Dutchbat headquarters, we entered a eign and commonwealth affairs, spoke headquarters, it seemed that there were huge garage, the size of two or three to the assembled crowd, but not a single at least that many people already there, football fields, and listened to a series survivor addressed the gathering. All of peppered across the hillsides, streaming of speeches by, among others, Dr. Smail the speakers from abroad bemoaned the down both sides of the road, and stand- Cekic, director of the Institute for the tragedy of Srebrenica. They either spoke ing in throngs in adjacent fields. Research of Crimes against Humanity about what should have been done to As soon as our buses were parked, and International Law; Samantha Power, prevent the genocide or described what we transferred to mini buses that Pulitzer Prize recipient for her book “A Bosniaks now needed to do to move drove us up a long, muddy road to Problem from Hell”: America and the forward (e.g., work towards reconcili- the site of a secondary mass grave Age of Genocide; and Dr. Diego E. Arria, ation, rebuild their country, and arrest being exhumed by members of the the former Venezuelan ambassador to and try the still at-large war criminals International Committee for Missing the United Nations. such as Ratko Mladic and Radovan Persons (ICMP). Serb forces had dug Following the talks, we dispersed Karadzic). The dignitaries’ platitudes up and relocated the bodies of mur- and walked in small groups across the contrasted sharply with the historical dered Muslim men to such secondary street in the light rain to the Srebrenica- reality—the lack of help offered to the graves in an effort to hide their crime. Potocari Memorial and Cemetery. victims during the genocidal period. A half dozen forensic anthropologists Masses of people walked down the However, the survivors with whom I scraped, measured, and took notes in middle of the road, boxed in on either spoke following the ceremony took a an open pit that was about eighteen side by large, muscular, Serb police offi- much more pragmatic approach to the feet long, six feet wide, and three feet cers. A huge, white banner, flapping in dignitaries’ speeches. Indeed, many of deep. Amongst the mud and the staked the wind along the road’s edge, bore the survivors believed that only with the out plots, set off with tiny red flags, sat bold green writing with the words: “10, presence of such dignitaries would the plastic bags full of bones; an assort- Godina Genocida, Ne Zaboravimo, world press cover the commemoration, ment of other bones jutted out of the Let Us Not Forget, Srebrenica, 11. Juli and thus help keep the memory of the ground and walls of the ditch at vari- 1995–2005.” Just beyond the sign was Srebrenica tragedy alive. ous angles. Pieces of clothing, bones the entrance to the memorial and cem- Following the speeches, a mass prayer encircled with ligatures of shredded etery, where security was quite tight. was held in the now pouring rain. Side- cloth, and large pieces of broken skulls As each person approached the gate to by-side, Muslim men and women stood sat helter skelter inside the ditch. A enter, he or she was instructed to place with their hands outstretched and their lone man’s work boot sat askew, half- bags, cameras, and other possessions palms turned skyward. The prayer was way up one wall of the ditch, and below through an X-ray machine, walk through followed by the individual burial of 256 it was the complete ribcage of what a metal detector and, in some cases, to bodies, all of which had been previ- appeared to be a young child. In the stop so that a guard could sweep him or ously exhumed from primary or second- center of the grave, a fully intact man’s her with a hand-held metal detector. ary mass graves. skull, its mouth cavity open wide in a Inside the grounds, the rain began At the conclusion of the ceremony, our Munch-like scream, sat perched on a to fall harder, creating muddy rivers group headed back to Sarajevo. Due to large mound of dirt. along the stone path as people tried to the insistence of a police officer direct-

S o c i a l E d u c a t i o n 212 ing traffic, our buses were forced to take Today, he said, he doesn’t feel at home This young man also shared with us a detour that caused the two-and-a-half- in Srebrenica. “It’s a place of death.” his thoughts during the past weekend’s hour trip to become a ten-hour drive But he also considers his hometown a commemoration. As Serbs stood on the along the bucolic Drina River. The saving place of death. “In my hometown there hills around Potocari watching Muslims grace, for me at least, was that Samantha are two men I suspect that killed my praying at the end of the memorial, the Power ended up sitting at the back of my mother. ... If I lived there I’d want to kill survivor recalled, “I imagined them say- bus, and thus we were able to discuss her the two of them, and they would prob- ing, ‘Shit, we shouldn’t have killed our book, A Problem from Hell, as well as ably want to kill me, fearing I planned neighbors, all those moderate Muslims, our views of the commemoration, the to kill them.” Instead, now he makes his who we drank raki with, were friends current situation in Darfur, the issue of home in Sarajevo. with, played with, socialized with.’” genocide prevention, and our individual “To this day, neither my parents’ book projects.4 nor my brother’s skeletons have been Lessons Learned? Over the next three days, I attended located,” he said. “If and when they Since the focus of the conference had the conference. There, I had the oppor- are, I will bury them by myself or with been, in part, the lessons learned from tunity to sit in on a talk given by a friends; probably by myself, and that the tragedy of Srebrenica, many scholars Srebrenica survivor to a small contingent will be fine—certainly not with all of the considered this angle, both in their talks of instructors and graduate students from noise and all of the VIPs we saw at the and during informal conversations. I the Danish Institute for International commemoration this past weekend.” delineated some of the following lessons Studies. The survivor, who requested The survivor pointed out that the in my own talk: First, when the aggressor that his name not be divulged because, end of war had not brought an end to or potential perpetrator is prone to using as he said, “The political situation is old hatreds. When elderly Bosniaks violent means to accomplish its goals, an still tense here,” spoke for a riveting two returned to Srebrenica after the war, he intervention by outsiders should involve hours. He shared powerful insights inter- reported, Serbs said repeatedly, “My both an adequate show and use of neces- woven with equally powerful personal God! What more do we have to do to sary force, if that is the only way to stave stories. A survivor of the 1994 Rwanda you to show you we don’t want you off the violence. Second, no so-called genocide, Rifiki Ubaldo, sat in on the here?” safe area should be established in a talk and periodically commented on how He also recounted the story of a tra- war zone without a robust Chapter VII remarkably similar the speaker’s experi- ditional Muslim woman he knew who (peace enforcement) mandate. While ences were to his own. went searching for the bodies of her the UNPROFOR had had a Chapter In discussing the events leading up to husband and four sons. VII mandate, both the leaders of the UN the genocide at Srebrenica, the survivor [She], with five other women and the UNPROFOR commanders on pointed out that thousands of Bosniaks who were all searching for a ride the ground were hesitant to use force had been killed before a single Serb mili- to Srebrenica, met an American and thus undermined the entire mission. tary person was ever killed—let alone a or a Dutch and asked him for a Third, the UN must never again promise Serb civilian. He added that thousands ride. When he said he couldn’t, a group of people that it will provide of Bosniaks were killed in various vil- this woman grabbed him by the them security in a “safe area,” if the lages from 1992 onwards, long before tie and, while choking him, said, UN is not absolutely willing and able the genocide of Srebrenica. The violence “You’re making a lot of money to to ensure such safety to the best of its was so rampant that he and his family help us, so help us!” ability. To accept or implement anything had moved 10 to 15 times and had gone [Remarkably], they became good less is not only unworkable but uncon- to Srebrenica because they had heard friends and he began taking her scionable. Fourth, in all honesty, the UN there was food available there. In fact, to Srebrenica [regularly]. Now, should not have used the term “safe area” Srebrenica only received one load of food here was a woman who never to describe such locations but should (25 trucks worth) from humanitarian wore anything else her entire life perhaps have used a variance of the fol- groups. “People were starving there,” he but a long skirt and a scarf but in lowing: “possibly safe area,” “hopefully said. He lost 40 kilos during the war, and order to not be detected by the safe area,” “dangerous area you should he had feared that his family was going to Serbs, when she traveled up to only enter at your own risk,” or “area starve to death. They did not have access Srebrenica, she wore a two-piece in which the safety of the troops comes to water or electricity for three and a half woman’s suit and a baseball cap. first, refugees last.” While the latter may years. When they ran out of matches and Eventually, she discovered two of sound cynical, these terms actually and fluid for lighters, they had to light wood her sons’ skeletons, and she per- accurately describe the reality of the from other people’s fires to keep warm sonally picked up their clothes, situation on the ground in Srebrenica and cook. “Like people did a thousand and all of their bones, and carried from 1993 through 1995. Fifth, in order years ago,” he said. them away in a taxicab. to ensure that UN missions are as viable

M a y / J u n e 2 0 0 6 213 and workable as UN leaders claim likely to act to halt that genocide; (5) Notes they will be, the missions need civilian The only way the United States is likely 1. UN Security Council, Resolution 819, April 16, S/RES/819 (New York: Author, 1993), 1. oversight by objective human rights and to act to halt genocide is when the lead- 2. Fran Pilch, “The Prosecution of the Crime of Genocide genocide experts. ers of the nation feel that, if they don’t in the ICTY: The Case of Radislav Kristic” (Paper presented at a conference on the Balkan Wars, Florida Other scholars discussed numer- act, their political futures would be in Atlantic University, February 2002), 3–5. ous other lessons: (1) When an actor jeopardy; and (6) The international 3. Eric Jansson, “Discomfort Over Serb Visit to Site purposely and consistently breaks an community wanted to see the collapse of Massacre,” [London] Financial Times (July 9-10, 2005):5. agreement—as the Serbs did in regard of the safe area so that it could proceed 4. Samuel Totten, “The Darfur Atrocities Document- to honoring the demilitarized zone that with the establishment of a peace accord ation Project,” Social Education 68, no. 7 (2004): was established by UNPROFOR—the among the warring factions/actors. 438–443. consequences must be immediate and The last point was not agreed on by forceful; (2) The time to act to prevent all—indeed, it proved to be controver- Samuel Totten is a scholar of genocide studies genocide is when an actor commits sial—but it was a point argued by many at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. His lat- est book is Genocide in Darfur: An Investigation crimes against humanity on a regular speakers from different nations. of Atrocities in the Sudan (New York: Routledge, basis, and in a systematic fashion—not Only time will tell whether such les- forthcoming), co-edited with Eric Markusen. after a genocide has already begun; sons will have an impact on the future. With William S. Parsons and Israel W. Charny, (3) The UN is not going to be more That said, when one examines the Totten also co-edited Century of Genocide: proactive to halt genocide than member current genocide being perpetrated in Critical Essays and Eyewitness Accounts (New York: Routledge, 2004). Among other books he states, because the UN is not a sepa- Darfur, one has to conclude that the UN has edited, co-edited, or written on genocide are rate entity but an organization of states; and the international community have Teaching about Genocide: Issues, Approaches, (4) Unless an individual country has a not learned any real lessons in regard Resources; Pioneers of Genocide Studies; and vested interest—political, social, or eco- to the moral imperative to save people First Person Accounts of Genocide Committed in the Twentieth Century: An Annotated Bibli- nomic—in an area of the world where facing genocide. That is both shameful ography. genocide is being perpetrated, it is not and unconscionable.

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