Bosnian Genocide

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This article is about the genocide that took place during the Bosnian War. Other cases of genocide in the same region during World War II are covered in other articles.

The Bosnian Genocide is a term used by academics,[1] human rights officials[2] and by the ICTY in The Hague when referring to a case of genocide that took place in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War from 1992 - 1995.

The Srebrenica massacre - where at least eight thousand Bosniak males were systematically killed by Army forces of Republika Srpska [3] - is the first legally established case of Genocide in Europe since the Holocaust, ruled as a case of genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Thus far the Srebrenica massacre has been the only case which the ICTY has officially defined as genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The UN's top court, the Hague, ruled on February 26, 2007, that no genocide occurred in Bosnia during the war other than the incident at Srebrenica. Judge Higgins declared in the ruling that despite Bosnia's claim that there were other acts of genocide, "the evidence did not show that these terrible acts were accompanied by the specific intent to destroy a group that is the required proof of genocide".[4]

In 1997, Germany handed down first Bosnian Genocide conviction. Serb soldier, Nikola Jorgic, was sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment for his involvement in Bosnian Genocide that took place in other regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. [5]

Contents

[edit] Controversy

There is a significant disagreement between the Bosnian and Bosnian Serb/Serbian side about the possibility or scope of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War that has made this a controversial and contentious issue.

Despite the ruling in the Hague that genocide outside of Srebrenica is not supported by evidence, the Bosnian side claims maintains that Srebrenica massacre was just one instance of what was a broader criminal activity during the Bosnian War and associates Bosnian genocide to an intent by the "Serb side" to destroy in whole or in part non-Serb population of Bosnia and Herzegovina. [6] Bosnians point out the existence of up to 500 concentration camps run by Serbs where non-Serbs were tortured, raped and killed. The Bosnian side further claims that numerous individual war crimes including crimes against humanity, rapes and ethnic cleansing, committed against non-Serbs during the Bosnian War when viewed in its combined impact fall under genocide definition as described by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948. [6]

Many Serb groups on the other hand espoused denial of the genocide, claiming that the intentional mass murder of nearly 8,000 Bosniaks in case of Srebrenica massacre is grossly exaggerated and that Republika Srpska government had no extermination policy.[7]

Some others, who don't deny mass killings by the Republika Srpska have engaged in pointing out "immoral equivalencies" (e.g. the killings and the ethnic cleansing of Serbs in Croatia) and/or justifications for the executions (e.g. retaliation or punishment for sabotage, terrorism, or subversion).[7] Some groups have manipulated the number of victims as an effective tool to cloud issues surrounding alleged Bosnian genocide particularly since there are vast discrepancies in original and more recent estimates on how many victims there were and which ethnic group suffered most casualties.[8]

There are several indictments relating to the Bosnian War currently at the ICTY including the Karadžić and Mladić indictments for genocide. Those genocide cases include instances where a significant number of Bosnian Croats were killed, particularly in Bosanska Krajina region which was under control of Army of Republika Srpska. While these cases are not yet finished they fall in the similar category of individual genocide accountability trials as was the landmark Srebrenica case prosecutor vs Krstic. Unlike Srebrenica case the scope of these ongoing trials is broader and allegations of genocide pertain to events in other regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and crimes that were committed for instance in towns of Prijedor or Zvornik or concentration camps Omarska camp or Keraterm camp.

[edit] Opinions

[edit] US resolution 199

Omarska camp detainees
Omarska camp detainees

On June 27, 2005, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution (H. Res. 199 sponsored by Congressman Christopher Smith and Congressman Benjamin Cardin) commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The resolution was passed with overwhelming majority of 370 - YES votes, 1 - NO vote, and 62 - ABSENT . [9] The resolution is a bipartisan measure commemorating July 11, 1995-2005, the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.

The resolution states that "the policies of aggression and ethnic cleansing1|2 as implemented by Serb forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 and 1995 with the direct support of Serbian regime of Slobodan Milosevic and its followers ultimately led to the displacement of more than 2,000,000 people, an estimated 200,000 killed, tens of thousands raped or otherwise tortured and abused, and the innocent civilians of Sarajevo and other urban centers repeatedly subjected to shelling and sniper attacks; meet the terms defining the crime of genocide in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, created in Paris on December 9, 1948, and entered into force on January 12, 1951." [10]

[edit] Ratko Mladic Recognized Genocide

Both highest ranking Bosnian Serb politicians, Radovan Karadzic and Momcilo Krajisnik, were warned by Bosnian Serb military commander General Ratko Mladic, also indicted on genocide charges, that their plans could not be committed without committing genocide.

People are not little stones, or keys in someone's pocket, that can be moved from one place to another just like that... Therefore, we cannot precisely arrange for only Serbs to stay in one part of the country while removing others painlessly. I do not know how Mr Krajisnik and Mr Karadzic will explain that to the world. That is genocide, said Mladic. [11]

[edit] Radovan Karadžić

Statement by Radovan Karadžić, co-founder of Republika Srpska and its first president, alluded to the origins of this ideology on March 4, 1992 to the Bosnian Parliament. This speech is most often quoted to imply that genocidal intent among Bosnian Serb leadership existed before the Bosnian War:

"I'm asking you once again, I'm not threatening, but asking you to take seriously the interpretation of the political will of the Serbian people who are represented here by the Serbian Democratic Party and the Serbian Renewal Movement and a couple of Serbs from other parties. I ask you to take seriously the fact that what you are doing is not good. Is this the road under which you want to direct Bosnia-Herzegovina? The same highway to hell and suffering that Slovenia and Croatia are travelling? Do not think that you will not lead Bosnia-Herzegovina to hell. And do not think that you will not perhaps lead the Muslim people into annihilation because the Muslim people cannot defend themselves if there is war. How will you prevent everyone from being killed in Bosnia-Herzegovina?"

[edit] Vladimir Srebrov

Srebrov, co-founder of the Serbian Democratic Party, claimed that the party intended to exterminate the Bosniak population of Bosnia after it had come to power.[12] He was imprisoned by the Serb side during the war.


[edit] Bosnian Genocide Case at the International Court of Justice

On February 26, 2007 the ICJ ruled that Serbia failed to prevent genocide committed by Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), but exonerated Serbia of direct responsibility for genocide. Serbia also failed to punish those who carried out the genocide, especially general Ratko Mladić. Despite the evidence of widespread killings, mass rapes, ethnic cleansing and torture by different Serb forces which also included JNA (VJ), elsewhere in Bosnia, especially in Prijedor, Banja Luka and Foča camps and detention centers, the judges ruled that the criteria for genocide were met only in Srebrenica or Eastern Bosnia.[13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ University of California Riverside,Bosnian Genocide In the Historical Perspective, [1]
  2. ^ Human Rights Watch, Milosevic to Face Bosnian Genocide Charges, 11 December 2001 [2]
  3. ^ http://www.srebrenica-zepa.ba/srebrenica/spisak.htm
  4. ^ http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21294277-1702,00.html
  5. ^ Oberlandesgericht Dusseldorf, "Public Prosecutor v Jorgic", 26 September 1997 [3]
  6. ^ a b van den Biesen."Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, General Concluding Observation". International Court of Justice. 24 April 2006, para. 1-12. [4]
  7. ^ a b Ingrao, Charles. "Genocide and Aftermath: Rationalizing the Process of Truth and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina". Academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina/Carnegie Council. 13 July 2005. [5]
  8. ^ Srebrenica Genocide Blog. "Srebrenica Massacre FAQ's: Facts vs Srebrenica Genocide Denial. 31 May 2006. para. 5 [6]
  9. ^ Washington Post. "Votes Database: Bill: H RES 199" 27 June 2005 [7]
  10. ^ US House of Representatives, "Resolution 199 (H. Res. 199): Srebrenica Genocide". 27 June 2005. [8]
  11. ^ Bosnia's Accidental Genocide, Bosnian Institute In UK. September 30, 2006.
  12. ^ Kulenovic, Adil. "Interview with Vladimir Srebrov, a founding member of the Serb Democratic Party". Vreme Magazine. 30 October 1995. [9]
  13. ^ Courte: Serbia failed to prevent genocide, UN court rules. Associated Press (2007-02-26).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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