Anniversary of Srebrenica today

May all the victims RIP both Serb and Muslim.

To think the Bosnian war could have ended in 1992 or 1993 with the Vance Owen plan which is not much different to the partition currently in effect in Bosnia and saved many thousand lives.

When one looks at all the wars in the world today and in recent history, there is one common factor, one war machine that the world has to stop before it gets out of control .....

The once respected US of A.

It never ceases to amaze me the loose language that is used with regards to Srebrenica.

8,000 'murdered' - nope. The dutch report on the affair clearly notes that a number of these soldiers were armed (as V/T footage also shows of some of the 28th division arriving in Tuzla) and were killed in ambushes and also fired upon each other in the confusion whilst retreating through Serb lines. Has anyone actually read the report? Oric and his officers were recalled to Sarajevo, american intelligence denied to the Dutch peacekeeping troops.

At least B92 doesn't stoop to the western media sleight of hand by saying 'men and boys' as a means of ignoring the fact that almost all were soldiers of ArBiH (as is on the official ArBiH lists).

Talk of reconciliation is rubbish though. The West decided to make the former SFRY a showcase for their 'moral' rectitude and decide who is 'right' and who is 'wrong' in a civil war where very few of those leaders can be regarded as innocent.

Does anyone remember Fikret Abdic, who beat Izetbegovic in elections and wanted nothing to do with his isamicization of bosnia? Nope, because Abdic is an inconvenient fact in the propaganda black and white story we are told.

South Africa has a reconciliation process that actually functions, the British authorities deal with reconciliation in Northern Ireland by totally ignoring it. Spain ignored the crimes of Franco for 30 years, Portugal - Salazar, Austria - its entire involvement with Nazi Germany, France - its collaborators with the Nazis and its war crimes during the Algerian war of independence. Did the Croats every express remorse over the Ustasa and Jasenovac or their 'helpful' franciscans? Or Izetbegovic, Cengic and others for their past?

As long as memories are passed down, there will never be 'reconciliation'. It is a fairy tale.

HN51:
> If these people do not reconcile, war would erupt again in 50 years with massacres worse than Srebrenica

Agreed. This was true in 1945. It is true now. History repeats itself.

Only trouble is, reconciliation is a 2-way process, & both sides need closure. And judging by the recent acquital of Oric, this isn't going to happen anytime soon.

I truly condemn the Srebrenica Massacres.. Bosniaks are Muslim Serbs and are therefore our brothers and made up languages like "Bosnian" and stupid borders will never change that.

However a few things... why doesn't anyone mention the Christmas Day Massacres that took place in Srebernica prior to the famous one? Furthermore why has Naser Oric been acquitted while Karadzic and Mladic are considered criminals?? Add the fact that the Srebrenica Massacre numbers were disgustingly inflated so it was not a genocide.

In my opinion Serbia should look for war criminals only when Oric and his clan are put in another trial and go to jail for a more appropriate time.

I think that has come for Serbia to surrender Mladic and Karadzic for what they did and to work with the Bosniaks into a reconciliation process. If these people do not reconcile, war would erupt again in 50 years with massacres worse than Srebrenica

I totally agree with Peter about reconciliation being a two way process. Unfortunately, Serb victims for political reasons have been ignored and that is not helping matters at all. I don't support crimes against innocent victims regardless of the nationalities involved.

More should be done here by international and Muslim officials to observe the 3,000 Serbian victims from the Srebrenica-Bratunac area at the hands of Naser Oric's forces preceding what happened to the muslims at Srebrenica.

Bad Gorilla,

Bosniaks still owe the world the actual BODIES of those Muslims they mourn every year in front of cameras. Where are they?
That is really strange don't you think? Considering that NATO had sateite pictures and all around survalance on Yugoslavia at the time of the war, so where did those pesky Serbs hide 8 thousand bodies?

True. Oric is just as guilty than Mladic and both should be in jail for the rest of their years.

Reconciliation will only be possible when Serbia and Bosnia’s Republika Srpska recognize they were the main perpetrators of the crimes that happened in the former Yugolsvia between 1991 and 1999.

8300 people were killed in Srebrenica, and this are UN numbers.

As long as Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Arkan will be regarded as heroes, there will be no chance of peace!

As long as people in football stadiums will be chanting “Knife, Wire, Srebrenica!”, there will be no chance of peace!

As long as people will regard the lives of Orthodox people above the value of the lives of Catholics and Muslims, there will be no chance of peace!

A nation that was found guilty of failing to prevent genocide continues to shelter the architects of genocide and wonders why the rest of the world draws inevitable conclusions.

I wish i could have been there, to walk in solidarity with these survivors. too many people are still locked into "my side against your side" and that gets us nowhere fast.

i have little faith in the regime in blgd, then, now, whenever. but everyday people can make their own choices. it is time to see the commonalities across ethnicities, rather than getting caught up in narrow nationalistic/chauvanistic ideologies.

for all of the war victims, RIP. for their survivors, let's try to look forward, not backwards...

peace, roberto
san francisco

I think that has come for Serbia to surrender Mladic and Karadzic for what they did and to work with the Bosniaks into a reconciliation process. If these people do not reconcile, war would erupt again in 50 years with massacres worse than Srebrenica

True. Oric is just as guilty than Mladic and both should be in jail for the rest of their years.

It never ceases to amaze me the loose language that is used with regards to Srebrenica.

8,000 'murdered' - nope. The dutch report on the affair clearly notes that a number of these soldiers were armed (as V/T footage also shows of some of the 28th division arriving in Tuzla) and were killed in ambushes and also fired upon each other in the confusion whilst retreating through Serb lines. Has anyone actually read the report? Oric and his officers were recalled to Sarajevo, american intelligence denied to the Dutch peacekeeping troops.

At least B92 doesn't stoop to the western media sleight of hand by saying 'men and boys' as a means of ignoring the fact that almost all were soldiers of ArBiH (as is on the official ArBiH lists).

Talk of reconciliation is rubbish though. The West decided to make the former SFRY a showcase for their 'moral' rectitude and decide who is 'right' and who is 'wrong' in a civil war where very few of those leaders can be regarded as innocent.

Does anyone remember Fikret Abdic, who beat Izetbegovic in elections and wanted nothing to do with his isamicization of bosnia? Nope, because Abdic is an inconvenient fact in the propaganda black and white story we are told.

South Africa has a reconciliation process that actually functions, the British authorities deal with reconciliation in Northern Ireland by totally ignoring it. Spain ignored the crimes of Franco for 30 years, Portugal - Salazar, Austria - its entire involvement with Nazi Germany, France - its collaborators with the Nazis and its war crimes during the Algerian war of independence. Did the Croats every express remorse over the Ustasa and Jasenovac or their 'helpful' franciscans? Or Izetbegovic, Cengic and others for their past?

As long as memories are passed down, there will never be 'reconciliation'. It is a fairy tale.

I truly condemn the Srebrenica Massacres.. Bosniaks are Muslim Serbs and are therefore our brothers and made up languages like "Bosnian" and stupid borders will never change that.

However a few things... why doesn't anyone mention the Christmas Day Massacres that took place in Srebernica prior to the famous one? Furthermore why has Naser Oric been acquitted while Karadzic and Mladic are considered criminals?? Add the fact that the Srebrenica Massacre numbers were disgustingly inflated so it was not a genocide.

In my opinion Serbia should look for war criminals only when Oric and his clan are put in another trial and go to jail for a more appropriate time.

I totally agree with Peter about reconciliation being a two way process. Unfortunately, Serb victims for political reasons have been ignored and that is not helping matters at all. I don't support crimes against innocent victims regardless of the nationalities involved.

More should be done here by international and Muslim officials to observe the 3,000 Serbian victims from the Srebrenica-Bratunac area at the hands of Naser Oric's forces preceding what happened to the muslims at Srebrenica.

May all the victims RIP both Serb and Muslim.

To think the Bosnian war could have ended in 1992 or 1993 with the Vance Owen plan which is not much different to the partition currently in effect in Bosnia and saved many thousand lives.

When one looks at all the wars in the world today and in recent history, there is one common factor, one war machine that the world has to stop before it gets out of control .....

The once respected US of A.

Bad Gorilla,

Bosniaks still owe the world the actual BODIES of those Muslims they mourn every year in front of cameras. Where are they?
That is really strange don't you think? Considering that NATO had sateite pictures and all around survalance on Yugoslavia at the time of the war, so where did those pesky Serbs hide 8 thousand bodies?

HN51:
> If these people do not reconcile, war would erupt again in 50 years with massacres worse than Srebrenica

Agreed. This was true in 1945. It is true now. History repeats itself.

Only trouble is, reconciliation is a 2-way process, & both sides need closure. And judging by the recent acquital of Oric, this isn't going to happen anytime soon.

I wish i could have been there, to walk in solidarity with these survivors. too many people are still locked into "my side against your side" and that gets us nowhere fast.

i have little faith in the regime in blgd, then, now, whenever. but everyday people can make their own choices. it is time to see the commonalities across ethnicities, rather than getting caught up in narrow nationalistic/chauvanistic ideologies.

for all of the war victims, RIP. for their survivors, let's try to look forward, not backwards...

peace, roberto
san francisco

Reconciliation will only be possible when Serbia and Bosnia’s Republika Srpska recognize they were the main perpetrators of the crimes that happened in the former Yugolsvia between 1991 and 1999.

8300 people were killed in Srebrenica, and this are UN numbers.

As long as Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Arkan will be regarded as heroes, there will be no chance of peace!

As long as people in football stadiums will be chanting “Knife, Wire, Srebrenica!”, there will be no chance of peace!

As long as people will regard the lives of Orthodox people above the value of the lives of Catholics and Muslims, there will be no chance of peace!

A nation that was found guilty of failing to prevent genocide continues to shelter the architects of genocide and wonders why the rest of the world draws inevitable conclusions.