Srebrenica

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Srebrenica Сребреница
Coat of arms
Location of Srebrenica within Bosnia and Herzegovina
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Settlements	81
Government
- Mayor	Abdurahman Malkić (SDA) [1]
Area
- Total	527 km² (203.5 sq mi)
Population (1991)
- Total	?
- Municipality	36,666
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	56
Website: www.srebrenica-opstina.org

Srebrenica (Cyrillic: Сребреница; pronounced [srɛbrɛnitsa]) is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Republika Srpska entity. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War, it was the site of the Srebrenica massacre. On March 24, 2007, Srebrenica's municipal assembly adopted a resolution demanding independence from the Republika Srpska; the Serb members of the assembly did not vote on the resolution.^[1]

[edit] Demographics

In 2005 there were about 4,000 Bosniaks in the municipality, about a third of the population.

The borders of the municipality in the 1953 and 1961 census were different. In 1953 Muslim by Nationality was not an option for the census, so the group called themselves Yugoslav. Yugoslav was not an option in 1948, so they were classified as other.

[edit] The town of Srebrenica

[edit] Economy

Before 1992, there was a metal factory in the town, and lead, zinc, and gold mines nearby. The town's name (Srebrenica) means "silver mine," the same meaning of its old Latin name Argentaria.

[edit] Local communities

The municipality (општина or opština) is further subdivided into the following local communities (мјесне заједнице or mjesne zajednice):[2]

[edit] Srebrenica massacre

Main article: Srebrenica massacre

During the War in Bosnia (1992–1995), the Srebrenica region saw heavy fighting. Hundreds of victims (Serbs as well as Bosniaks) fell in the first years of the war, also among the civilian population. The town at the centre of the municipality became a Bosnian Muslim/Bosniak enclave surrounded by Serbs. In April 1993, the United Nations declared Srebrenica a UN safe area, guarded by a small unit operating under the mandate of United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). During the war, the town and its UN-safe zone status was used by its Muslim occupiers as a protective shield from which they attacked the outlying Serb villages and committed many atrocitiesWar in the Balkans, 1991-2002. Among these is the Christmas-day massacre of Serbs and demolition of the Orthodox Christian church by the forces of Naser Orić, the leader of Srebrenica's muslim forces. Oric was also known for hoarding supplies and running the black market in the town, through which he charged exorbitant rates for everyday necessities that the populace needed to survive[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3719434.stm Srebrenica Muslim chief on trial ]. Nevertheless, the town was captured by the Army of Republika Srpska in July 1995, as it remained, along with Žepa and Goražde, the two remaining pockets of Muslim troops in Eastern Bosnia. Following the town's capture, approximately eight thousand Bosniak men of fighting age were massacred by Serbian forces. All women, and men below 16 years of age and above 55, were sent by Serbian forces by bus to TuzlaCommemorating Srebrenica. The remaining men, those of fighting age, the vast majority of which were involved in defending the town and attacking its surroundings during the war, were massacred. Naser Oric, the town's chief of defence, left the town in the months before the attack as it became increasingly evident that it would be attacked. He left behind the town's population and fled to Tuzla with some of his most trusted men[www.srebrenica-report.com/defense.htm Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis].

The Srebrenica massacre is also referred to as the Srebrenica genocide, and it is considered as such by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. [3] This was followed by an admission to and an apology for the massacre by the Republika Srpska government. [4]

[edit] Gallery

Panorama of Srebrenica	The Orthodox church	Interior of the Orthodox church	The franciscan Catholic chapel
The White Mosque	Fast Food Seka, on the place of a pre-1990s-war mosque (tombstones on the right)	The main road toward west	The main road from west toward the centre
The old town (Stari Grad)	Ruins of Mount Guber thermal centre	Potocari Genocide Memorial	Potocari Genocide Memorial

[edit] See also

• Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Srebrenica massacre
• Bosnian Genocide
• History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Srebrenica Genocide Memorial

[edit] References

  2. Christmas Day Massacre of Serbs by Muslim Forces, Srebrenica

[edit] External links

• Opština Srebrenica - Srebrenica Municipality (Serbo-Croatian)
• Official site of a Bosnian NGO Citizens Associations "Women of Srebrenica" (Bosnian)

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Coordinates: 44°06′N, 19°18′E