Thirty years after Srebrenica Massacre, the slogan ‘never again' is a mockery
When an exiled South African journalist reluctantly explained the Nazi Holocaust to his seven-year-old son, the boy knew that no adult in Germany could have legitimately claimed 'we did not know'.
That boy grew up to cover two back-to-back 'official' genocides in the 1990s in Bosnia and Rwanda. In the former Yugoslavia, he saw Muslims were hunted for sport in Sarajevo and whole streets curtained to hide civilian shoppers from Serb snipers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
Thirty years after Srebrenica Massacre, the slogan ‘never again' is a mockery
As we watch another genocide unfold before our eyes, we cannot say 'we did not know' When an exiled South African journalist reluctantly explained the Nazi Holocaust to his seven-year-old son, the boy knew that no adult in Germany could have legitimately claimed 'we did not know'. That boy grew up to cover two back-to-back 'official' genocides in the 1990s in Bosnia and Rwanda. In the former Yugoslavia, he saw Muslims were hunted for sport in Sarajevo and whole streets curtained to hide civilian shoppers from Serb snipers.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Fugitive ‘White Widow' terrorist Samantha Lewthwaite ‘is still alive and active in terror cell financing jihadists'
THE notorious 'White Widow' Brit terrorist linked to 400 deaths who married a 7/7 suicide bomber is still alive and active in terror cells, a new investigation has claimed. Samantha Lewthwaite has been one of the world's most wanted terrorists having eluded capture for years. Advertisement 6 Samantha Lewthwaite 6 The wreck of the Number 30 double decker bus is pictured in Tavistock Square in central London, 08 July, 2005 Credit: AFP 6 Samantha Lewthwaite has long been wanted in connection to a string of terror related incidents 6 A photo of Samantha Lewthwaite taken from her fake South African passport released by Kenyan police in December 2011 Credit: AFP Rumours have circulated since her disappearance that she died in a drone strike. But an investigation from the Daily Mail has shed lights on the possible whereabouts of a figure linked to a series of ghastly attacks. It comes as Britain marks 20 years since the London bombings on July 7, 2005 this week, in which 52 people died and hundreds were injured. Lewthwaite, who was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in Aylesbury, was married to one of the suicide bombers, Germaine Lindsay. Advertisement read more in world news She denied knowing he planned to blow up a tube train, but her subsequent alleged involvement with other terrorists has cast doubt on that. The now 41-year-old left the UK in 2009 and went to South Africa, before heading on to Tanzania in 2011 and then to Kenya. She is also accused of orchestrating the attack in Mombasa targeting England fans during Euro 2012, and two other deadly attacks in the country. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Exclusive The Brit has been in total linked to around 400 deaths. Security services across Africa and the Middle East have tried to track her down without any success for a decade and a half. At a court hearing in 2014, one Kenyan detective said: "She is a person with multiple identification. "She keeps moving. We think she is using plastic surgery including her nose." Advertisement But it is now believed she is still alive and was spotted in Uganda as recently as last year. She is allegedly now based in Somalia, where she is part of an al-Shabaab cell - an al-Qaeda affiliate. "Despite not knowing her exact location, we believe she is active in terrorism activities under al-Shabaab control in Somalia," a source said. The White Widow was also reported to be the "main financier" of the cell, operating in a logistical role. Advertisement In this position, she allegedly controls the money instead of working on the front lines. She is also said to be a fan of Beyonce and Weetabix. Police previously crossed paths briefly with Lewthwaite when investigating a property in Mombasa in 2011. A British man called Jermaine Grant was arrested when fuses and ammunition were found stashed under a sofa - and he named Lewthwaite as the senior cell member. Advertisement While cops discovered she was in the adjacent apartment, the passport they found was in a different name. Lewthwaite had fled by the time they realised the passport was a fake. This was the last confirmed sighting of her. It is now alleged the officers accepted a bribe of five million Kenyan dollars (nearly £30,000) from her when they went to the apartment. Advertisement In 2018, there were alleged sightings in Yemen where she was said to be offering as little as £300 to the desperate families of young women to persuade them to become suicide bombers. She has not yet been charged with any of those offences. As a teenager she was seduced by the teachings of extremist cleric, Trevor Forrest, or Sheik Abdullah el-Faisal. Lewthwaite even visited him in prison in 2006, a year after the bombings. Advertisement Through el-Faisal she met first husband, bomber Germaine Lindsay who killed himself and 26 others on the Tube in July 7, 2005. 6 Germaine Lindsay and Samantha Lewthwaite Credit: ©2020 Netflix, Inc. Advertisement 6 An injured person is taken away from Aldgate Underground Station Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
The Journal
2 days ago
- The Journal
'Europe watched as our children were killed': Bosnia remembers Srebrenica genocide 30 years on
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE have gathered in Srebrenica to commemorate the genocide committed 30 years ago by Bosnian Serb forces, one of Europe's worst atrocities since World War II. On the eve of the commemorations, thousands of Srebrenica peace marchers who have walked more than 100 kilometres in memory of the victims and survivors of the massacre arrived at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center. The remains of seven victims of the massacre will be laid to rest during commemorations, marking the bloodiest episode of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s. A child places a flower on a truck carrying remains of the identified victims Alamy Alamy The war broke out after Bosnia declared independence, a move supported by the country's Muslims and Croats, but rejected by Serbs. On 11 July, 1995, after a siege of more than three months, Bosnian Serb forces captured the eastern town, which was at the time a UN-protected enclave. They killed 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the following days and buried them in mass graves. Around 100 women were killed in the massacre, 80 of whom remain missing. So far about 7,000 victims have been identified and buried while about 1,000 are still missing. In a bid to cover up the crime, the Bosnian Serb authorities had the remains removed to secondary mass graves, causing many of the bodies to be shredded by heavy machinery, according to experts. The remains of seven newly identified victims of the 1990s genocide arrive in Potočari ahead of a mass gathering Alamy Alamy Thirty years of pain 'For 30 years we have carried the pain in our souls,' said Munira Subasic, president of the association Mothers of Srebrenica. Her husband Hilmo and 17-year-old son Nermin were killed in the massacre. 'Our children were killed, innocent, in the UN protected zone. Europe and the world watched in silence as our children were killed.' The seven victims buried on Friday at the memorial centre included a 19-year-old man and a 67-year-old woman. The remains of most of the victims are incomplete and in some cases consist only of one or two bones, experts said. Advertisement The families have waited for years to bury their loved ones, hoping that more remains would be found. But Mevlida Omerovic decided not to wait any longer to bury her husband Hasib. He was killed at the age of 33, probably in Petkovci, around 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Srebrenica. Around a thousand people were transported there and locked up in a school before being executed. It is one of five mass execution sites of the massacre, the only atrocity of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war that was qualified as genocide by international justice institutions. 'Thirty years have passed and I have nothing to wait for anymore,' said Omerovic, 55. She wants to be able to visit the grave of her husband, even though only his jawbone will be in the coffin. Visiting the graves of her two sons Sajib and Sinan, killed in the massacre in their early 20s, enables Nezira Mehmedovic to feel closer to them. 'I like the most to come here to my sons. I talk to them, I cry, I pray, I kiss them … and for thirty years like that,' she told AFP sitting next to her sons' graves. 'My heart aches for them constantly,' the 75-year-old woman said crying. 'They say life goes on … But how?' Graves for seven newly identified victims of genocide in Srebrenica ready for burial Alamy Alamy Serb denial Bosnian Serb wartime political and military leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic were sentenced to life imprisonment by an international tribunal, notably for the Srebrenica genocide. But Serbia and Bosnian Serb leaders continue to deny that the massacre was a genocide. 'The Serbs did not commit genocide in Srebrenica… it did not happen', Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said this month. Last year, an international day of remembrance was established by the United Nations to mark the Srebrenica genocide, despite protests from Belgrade and Bosnian Serbs. 'July 11 is a day of great sadness and pain,' Ramiza Gurdic, whose husband Junuz and sons Mehrudin and Mustafa were killed in the massacre, told AFP. 'But for me, every day is July 11, every night, every morning, when I get up and realise that they are not here.'
