Opsada Srebrenice: Nazad u 1992, Gdje je Sve Počelo

Slijede rijetki snimci iz opkoljene Srebrenice napravljeni u augustu 1992 (tri godine prije srebreničkog genocida). Snimak sam izvadio iz sudske baze podataka Haaškog tribunala. Na snimku se vide civili Bošnjaci koji se skrivaju po šumama od srpskih snaga koje su uništile okolna muslimanska sela.

Gore navedeni video je dobar kompliment mom Preludiju za genocid u Srebrenici – masovna ubistva i etničko čišćenje Bošnjaka u regiji Srebrenice tijekom prva tri mjeseca bosanskog rata (april-juni 1992). Ja također preporučujem da pogledate snimke izvještavanja Tony Birtley-a iz opkoljene Srebrenice (1993), koji sam ranije objavio (uz dopuštenje autora) u tri segmenta:

1. Gladovanje u Srebrenici Prije Genocida – Tony Birtley, dio 1/3

2. Očaj i Otpor u Srebrenici Prije Genocida – Tony Birtley, dio 2/3

3. Scene iz Pakla u Srebrenici Prije Genocida – Tony Birtley, dio 3/3

Siege of Srebrenica: Back to 1992, Where it all Began

The following is a rare footage from the besieged Srebrenica that I unearthed from the court database of the Hague Tribunal. The footage was taken in August of 1992. It shows Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) civilians in the besieged enclave of Srebrenica hiding in the woods from Serb forces that destroyed surrounding Bosnian Muslim villages.

The above video is a good compliment to my Prelude to the Srebrenica Genocide: Mass murder and ethnic cleansing of Bosniaks in the Srebrenica region during the first three months of the Bosnian War (April-June 1992). I also recommend Tony Birtley’s reporting from the besieged Srebrenica (1993), which I re-published (with author’s permission) in three segments:

1. Starvation in Pre-Genocide Srebrenica – Tony Birtley, part 1/3

2. Desperation and Resistance in Pre-Genocide Srebrenica – Tony Birtley, part 2/3

3. Scenes from Hell in Pre-Genocide Srebrenica – Tony Birtley, part 3/3

‘Samogenocid’ na Popisu Stanovništva BiH 2013

Piše: Daniel Toljaga
Al Jazeera Balkans

Subjektivitet Nacije

Etno-nacionalna karta BiH (prema popisu stanovništva iz 1991). Izvor: Ured visokog predstavnika Bosne i Hercegovine (OHR).

Nacija je zajednica ljudi koji dijele zajednički jezik, kulturu, etnicitet, vjeru i historiju bez obzira na teritorijalnu ograničenost. Ovaj termin se u zemljama poput Kanade upotrebljava za sve stanovnike unutar države, mada stanovništvo francuskog govornog područja provincije Quebec i starosjedilačko indijansko stanovništvo odbijaju takvu odrednicu i sebe smatraju zasebnim nacijama.

Pojam “nacije” na Balkanu nikada nije bio vezan ni za državu, ni za pasoš, niti se anglo-saksonsko shvatanje “nacije” moglo dovoditi u bilo kakvu vezu sa bogatim historijskim nasljeđem ljudi ovih krajeva. Sasvim je prirodno da autohtoni narodi Balkana — Bošnjaci, Srbi i Hrvati — na sebe gledaju kao na etno-nacionalne grupe, kao što je to slučaj i sa nekim drugim narodima – npr. Jevrejima.

Neće se nijedan Srbin na predstojećem popisu stanovništva BiH u aprilu 2013. godine izjasniti ni kao Bosanac, ni kao Hercegovac; niti će se ijedan Hrvat izjasniti kao Hercegovac ili kao Bosanac. Međutim postoje naznake da će na popisu doći do raskola među nama Bošnjacima što će imati katastrofalne posljedice po Bosnu i Hercegovinu i njene autohtone stanovnike – Bošnjake.

Judicial bullying pays off in Karadzic’s Bosnian genocide trial

“…to say that genocide took place ‘only’ in Srebrenica in July 1995 flies in the face of earlier judicial rulings. Four international judgments in the especially well-argued cases of Nikola Jorgic, Novislav Djajic, Djuradj Kusljic, and Maksim Sokolovic clearly confirm that genocide took place in several municipalities outside of Srebrenica in 1992. All four trials were conducted in Germany — at the request of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) — to ease the caseload of ongoing trials at The Hague. All the relevant appeals have long been exhausted, so that judgments in these cases are final and binding.” – Daniel Toljaga

Radovan Karadzic in the courtroom. Screenshot from the video grab of the Hague Tribunal.

Author: Daniel Toljaga
Bosnian Institute, UK
[originally published on 30 July, 2012.]

Twelve years ago, the amended indictment against Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic charged the two key orchestrators of the ‘ethnic cleansing’ campaign with genocide, crimes against humanity, and other war crimes committed in at least 40 municipalities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The prosecutors alleged that in 18 of these municipalities, the ‘destruction, in whole or in part’ reached the scale of genocide.(1)

Over time, the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICTY) exerted pressure upon prosecutors to reduce the charges against the accused. The notional aim was to achieve a fair and expeditious trial, even at the expense of justice for the victims.

Govor Rabina Arthura Schneiera u Memorijalnom Centru Potočari

“Ovaj zločin je, prije svega, počinjen protiv više od 8000 ljudskih bića – od kojih danas ukopavamo više od 500 – muškaraca i dječaka koji su masovno ubijani u činu genocida. Jedini grijeh žrtava bio je što su postojali…” – Rabin Arthur Schneier.

“Sjedinjene Države odbacuju nastojanja da se iskrivljuju razmjeri ovog zločina, da se opravdavaju motivi za ovaj zločin, da se okrivljuju žrtve i negira nepobitna činjenica da je to bio genocid.” — Predsjednik SAD-a Barack Obama.

Rabin Arthur Schneier prilikom obraćanja u Memorijalnom centru za žrtve Genocida u Potočarima 11. jula, 2012.

Govor rabina Arthura Schneiera

Predsjednika fondacije Apel savjesti

Visoko-činski rabin Park East sinagoge u New York-u

Juli 11, 2012.

Srebrenica-Potočari, Bosna i Hercegovina

* Prijevod na bosanski jezik: Daniel Toljaga
| ENGLISH |

Vaša eminencijo reisu-l-ulema, muftija tuzlanski, vršioče dužnosti načelnika Srebrenice, vaše ekselencije, braćo i sestre,

Prešao sam Atlantik da bih danas stao ovdje solidarišući se s vama dok se sjećate svojih voljenih koji su bili žrtve masovnog ubistva i da bismo se zajedno prisjetili još jednog ružnog poglavlja nečovječnog odnosa čovjeka prema čovjeku.

Iako razorni bol zbog ovog zločina osjećaju najviše Srebreničani, Bosna i Hercegovina i porodice žrtava naročito – u tome niste sami.

Rabbi Arthur Schneier’s Keynote Speech at Srebrenica’s Genocide Memorial (must read)

A Holocaust survivor, New York Rabbi Arthur Schneier (2nd L), places flowers at a monument commemorating the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, during a mass burial ceremony at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Cemetery in Potocari on July 11, 2012. (Photo by Elvis Barukcic)

From:     The Appeal of Conscience Foundation
Contact: Rubenstein Associates
                  Howard Cannon (212) 843 8072 hcannon@rubenstein.com
_____________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release

Rabbi Arthur Schneier Delivers Keynote Address at Seventeenth Annual Memorial Service Commemorating the Srebenica Genocide
Europe’s Largest Massacre Since World War II

*****The First Time that a Non-Muslim Has Ever Taken Part in the Commemoration*****

Rabbi Arthur Schneier, founder and President of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation and the Senior Rabbi at Park East Synagogue in New York delivered the keynote address at the seventeenth annual memorial at Bosnia’s Potocari Memorial Park to commemorate the Srebenica Genocide, Europe’s largest massacre since World War II. It was the first time that a non-Muslim has ever taken part in this annual memorial. 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed on July 11, 1995. The massacre is considered the most brutal chapter of the Bosnian War.

Rabbi Schneier, who also delivered a personal message from President Barack Obama, spoke at the request of Grand Mufti Ceric of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The two have worked closely together for more than 20 years. In 1992 in Berne, Switzerland, The Appeal of Conscience Foundation led by Rabbi Schneier brought together for the first time top religious leaders of former Yugoslavia including Cardinal Vinko Puljic, Archbishop of Sarajevo, formally of Zagreb, Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox Church; Grand Mufti Jakub efendi Selimoski of Sarajevo calling for an end to the bloodshed and joined in “the Berne Declaration” proclaiming “a crime in the name of religion is the greatest crime against religion”.

Rabbi Schneier a Holocaust survivor told the more than 50,000 who attended the commemoration,

“My entire family was murdered in Auschwitz and in Terezin. I know the anguish and despair that you feel when those dearest to you are brutally murdered for no other reason than their religion or ethnicity. Although the devastating pain of this crime belongs uniquely to the people of Bosnia and Srebrenica, and most particularly to the family members of its victims, you are not alone. I grieve with you, I feel your anguish, I hear your cry and I feel your pain. The brutality of what took place here can never be forgotten. And the totality of this crime must be remembered, not denied. The testimony of those who survived cannot be refuted and the historical fact cannot be altered.”

The Rabbi read a message from President Obama a portion of which stated,

“The name Srebrenica will forever be associated with some of the darkest acts of the 20th century. A measure of justice is finally being served for the victims in courts in The Hague and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the perpetrators of this atrocity, including Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, are now being called to account for their actions. We know that Srebrenica’s future, and that of Bosnia and Herzegovina, will not be held back by its painful recent history. The United States rejects efforts to distort the scope of this atrocity, rationalize the motivations behind it, blame the victims, and deny the indisputable fact that it was genocide. The United States stands with the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and grieves again for the loss of so many loved ones. Our hearts and deepest sympathies are with them, and we pledge our enduring commitment to support their aspirations for a better tomorrow.” 

Prosecution’s Opening Statements in Ratko Mladic’s Bosnian Genocide Trial

Ratko Mladić in courtroom during prosecution’s opening statements in the Bosnian Genocide trial at the International Criminal Tribunal on May 16, 2012. (Source: screengrab from ICTY video.)

“Two decades ago this past month Bosnian Serb leaders commenced an attack on their fellow citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina… In some locations this attack arose to the level of genocide. The world watched in disbelief that in neighbourhoods and villages within Europe a genocide appeared to be in progress…. a campaign that included the crime of genocide in certain municipalities.” 

– Prosecutor Dermot Groome

Edited by: Daniel Toljaga

Prosecution’s opening statements in the Bosnian Genocide trial of Ratko Mladic took place on 16 and 17 of May, 2012, at the Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal. The criminal charges contained in the current version of the indictment against Ratko Mladic cover a very limited range of individual war crimes and locations. In order to expedite the trial the scope of the indictment has been substantially reduced from that of the initial indictment. The ‘Fourth Amended Indictment‘ charges the Accused with:

Count 1: Genocide.
– Municipalities: Bratunac, Foča, Ključ, Prijedor, Sanski Most, Vlasenica and Zvornik.
Count 2: Genocide.
– Municipality: Srebrenica.
Count 3: Persecutions on Political, Racial and Religious Grounds, a Crime Against Humanity.
– Municipalities: Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Bosanska Krupa, Bosanski Novi, Bratunac, Brčko, Foča, Hadžići, Ilidža, Kalinovik, Ključ, Kotor Varoš, Novi Grad, Novo Sarajevo, Pale, Prijedor, Rogatica, Sanski Most, Sokolac, Trnovo, Vlasenica, Vogošca, Zvornik and Srebrenica.
Count 4: Extermination, a Crime Against Humanity.
Count 5: Murder, a Crime Against Humanity.
Count 6: Murder, a Violation of the Laws or Customs of War.
Count 7: Deportation, a Crime Against Humanity.
Count 8: Inhumane Acts (forcible transfer), a Crime Against Humanity.
Count 9: Acts of Violence the Primary Purpose of which is to Spread Terror among the Civilian Population, a Violation of the Laws or Customs of War.
Count 10: Unlawful Attacks on Civilians, a Violation of the Laws or Customs of War.
Count 11: Taking of Hostages, a Violation of the Laws or Customs of War.

For easier reading, I removed numbered lines and double-spaced sentences that appear in the published court transcripts. Alternatively you can watch videos of Ratko Mladic’s trial.

 * * * * *

[Prosecution Opening Statement, Day 1. / May 16, 2012.]

MR. DERMOT GROOME: Your Honours, two decades ago