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The National
11-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Did we learn anything from Srebrenica?
It has been 30 years since those terrible, hot summer days during which a genocide began a former silver-mining town in eastern Bosnia called Srebrenica. From July 11, 1995, when the area fell into the hands of the Bosnian Serb army, more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered in and around the town. Since the start of the Bosnian War in 1992, Srebrenica had endured numerous mortar and rocket attacks as well as a crippling siege, despite being a UN-protected area. But the Bosnian Serbs had greater plans for Srebrenica – they wanted it completely emptied of Muslims. Today, Srebrenica – once a place known for its healing waters – has become a haunted memory and a symbol of international failure. The mistakes made there should remind us why we must not be silent – or complicit – in the ethnic cleansing and destruction taking place in Gaza. The Srebrenica genocide could have easily been prevented but for a series of fatal blunders and miscommunications that started in the UN's headquarters in New York and its Department of Peacekeeping Operations, led by Kofi Annan – who would go on to become UN secretary general in 1997. These errors then trickled down the chain of command, eventually reaching the hapless battalion of Dutch peacekeepers on duty in Srebrenica itself. These mistakes, accompanied by a lack of judgement and moral leadership, led to the murder of those 8,000 helpless people, many of whom were cowering in the surrounding forest or in factories outside the town when they died. A vandalised mural in Belgrade depicting former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic. The general was arrested in 2011 and later convicted of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. EPA In the subsequent months and years, political earthquakes rocked the world of peacekeeping and conflict resolution. Blame was cast around but this would not bring back the dead. Several investigations were launched and there was widespread condemnation of the inaction and failure displayed by the UN and the Dutch soldiers. The entire Dutch cabinet resigned in shame in 2002. On the fifth anniversary of the atrocity, Mr Annan said the tragedy of Srebrenica 'will forever haunt the history of the United Nations'. Nevertheless, Mr Annan remained in his position. In fact, no UN official resigned over Srebrenica. Srebrenica did, however, lead to the Dayton Accords in November 1995, a peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia. In 2013, Serbia's president at the time, Tomislav Nikolic, issued an apology on behalf of his country but did not use the word 'genocide'. To this day, many Bosnian Serb politicians continue to deny that the events of July 1995 were a genocide. Regarding accountability, Gen Ratko Mladic – the leader of the Serb forces at Srebrenica and who was dubbed 'the Butcher of Bosnia' – was arrested in 2011. He was later convicted of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, and sentenced to life in prison. Also prosecuted was Radovan Karadzic, president of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb state. Slobodan Milosevic, the architect of all the Yugoslav wars, died in custody in 2006, thereby avoiding justice. Having been a reporter throughout the Bosnian War – and deeply influenced by the crimes I witnessed there – I will never forget those days, nor will I forget the survivors and the families who were left behind. This is why I often use Srebrenica for a reference point when referring to the current death and destruction taking place in front of our eyes in Gaza. We can learn from what happened in that haunted place – and try to save what is left of Gaza. Most of all, we must protect the children who did nothing to start a war, and whose innocence is forever shattered If we must focus on one thing in Gaza, let it be the mass murder of its children, the future generation. The victims of Srebrenica were largely men of fighting age, although boys as young as 13 were taken away and killed. The youngest known victim of those brutal days of mayhem was Fatima Muhic, who was two days old when she was murdered. She was born inside the UN base in the village of Potocari, where thousands of Bosnians had taken shelter. Her pregnant mother fled there, believing she would be safe from harm. But the infant was slaughtered almost immediately after her mother gave birth. In Gaza, the most innocent victims are children. Unicef, the UN's agency for children, estimates that 50,000 minors have been killed or injured since the war started. Since the ceasefire broken by Israel in March, thousands more have been killed or injured. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has cited Unicef figures that say more than 100 children have been killed or injured every day since March 18. Worse is the relentless hunger. Israeli soldiers have admitted they have been told to shoot at civilians struggling to get food from so-called aid distribution points. Then there is Gaza's dying health service. Owing to a lack of clean water and medical supplies, children are dying of illnesses such as diarrhoea and polio that could have been treated easily. The numbers of amputees are increasing and Gaza is now home to more child amputees than anywhere else in the world, with a September 2024 World Health Report estimating that between 3,105 and 4,050 limb amputations have been carried out since October 2023. As a mother, it is impossible for me to fathom that even this extreme-right Israeli government can do this to other human beings. The development of hundreds of thousands of children has been halted. According to a Unicef estimate, there are nearly 17,000 orphans in the enclave as well as 'unaccompanied and separated' children, roaming the camps and the rubble searching for food or comfort. School has been completely disrupted. Then there is profound trauma. According to the International Rescue Committee, because of their exposure to violence, up to 88 per cent of children in Gaza experience nightmares and agoraphobia, the fear of being in situations from where it might be difficult to escape There will be deep-rooted trauma for generations to come and the IRC describes these desperate children as a 'lost generation'. Perhaps the most heart-breaking thing I have heard is that the highest number of children killed are in the 5-9 age bracket. This is because parents pick up the babies and toddlers, but these slightly older children are too young to outrun the bombs and too big to be carried. Every day there is fresh misery from Gaza, and yet there is no reprieve. The last UN Security Council resolution to call for a permanent ceasefire was vetoed by the US. Unlike in Israel during a rocket attack, there's nowhere for Gazans to hide. There is no justification that cites Israel's right to self-defence when it comes to the rights of the child – the right to live without fear, without hunger, without trauma. And with education, a home and a safe space. Every year on July 11, I look back carefully on my notes and my interviews from Srebrenica. I will never forget my years in Bosnia, the war on civilians that culminated in a genocide. We can learn from what happened in that haunted place – and try to save what is left of Gaza. Most of all, we must protect the children who did nothing to start a war, and whose innocence is forever shattered. MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman Director: Jesse Armstrong Rating: 3.5/5 Pupils in Abu Dhabi are learning the importance of being active, eating well and leading a healthy lifestyle now and throughout adulthood, thanks to a newly launched programme 'Healthy Lifestyle'. As part of the Healthy Lifestyle programme, specially trained coaches from City Football Schools, along with Healthpoint physicians have visited schools throughout Abu Dhabi to give fun and interactive lessons on working out regularly, making the right food choices, getting enough sleep and staying hydrated, just like their favourite footballers. Organised by Manchester City FC and Healthpoint, Manchester City FC's regional healthcare partner and part of Mubadala's healthcare network, the 'Healthy Lifestyle' programme will visit 15 schools, meeting around 1,000 youngsters over the next five months. Designed to give pupils all the information they need to improve their diet and fitness habits at home, at school and as they grow up, coaches from City Football Schools will work alongside teachers to lead the youngsters through a series of fun, creative and educational classes as well as activities, including playing football and other games. Dr Mai Ahmed Al Jaber, head of public health at Healthpoint, said: 'The programme has different aspects - diet, exercise, sleep and mental well-being. By having a focus on each of those and delivering information in a way that children can absorb easily it can help to address childhood obesity." Results Female 49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) bt Thamires Aquino (BRA); points 0-0 (advantage points points 1-0). Female 55kg: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Amal Amjahid (BEL); points 4-2. Female 62kg: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR); 10-2. Female 70kg: Thamara Silva (BRA) bt Alessandra Moss (AUS); submission. Female 90kg: Gabreili Passanha (BRA) bt Claire-France Thevenon (FRA); submission. Male 56kg: Hiago George (BRA) bt Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA); 2-2 (2-0) Male 62kg: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) bt Joao Miyao (BRA); 2-2 (2-1) Male 69kg: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Isaac Doederlein (USA); 2-2 (2-2) Ref decision. Male 77kg: Tommy Langarkar (NOR) by Oliver Lovell (GBR); submission. Male 85kg: Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE); 2-2 (1-1) Ref decision. Male 94kg: Kaynan Duarte (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL); submission. Male 110kg: Joao Rocha (BRA) bt Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE); submission. F1 The Movie Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem Director: Joseph Kosinski Rating: 4/5 ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER %3Cp%3EAndroid%20Alpha%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Beta%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Cupcake%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Donut%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Eclair%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Froyo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Gingerbread%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Honeycomb%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Ice%20Cream%20Sandwich%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Jelly%20Bean%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20KitKat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Lollipop%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Marshmallow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Nougat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Oreo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%20Pie%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2010%20(Quince%20Tart*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2011%20(Red%20Velvet%20Cake*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2012%20(Snow%20Cone*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2013%20(Tiramisu*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2014%20(Upside%20Down%20Cake*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAndroid%2015%20(Vanilla%20Ice%20Cream*)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3E*%20internal%20codenames%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RTÉ News
29-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
'Die trying to live' - Survivor on Srebrenica genocide
A commemoration will be held in Dublin today to mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica, eastern Bosnia Herzegovina, where more than 8,000 men and boys were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces. The murderous rampage happened within an area which had been designated by the United Nations to be a "safe haven". Paul Cunningham, who first reported from the war in Bosnia Herzegovina in 1993, tells the story of one man who survived the genocide, but whose four brothers were killed. The moment Hajrudin Mesić realised the genocidal intention of the Bosnian Serb Army, and its feared militias, was late one night as he hid in bushes, exhausted and starving, in the middle of nowhere. This was July 1995. Hajrudin was part of a column of men who were trying to flee from Srebrenica, which had just fallen to Bosnian Serb forces, and reach the safety of government-controlled territory roughly 70km away. The men were mostly Bosnian Muslims, but who defined themselves as Bosniaks - people who believed in a multi-ethnic state. Their column was being pursued relentlessly by their enemy through the forests. Sometimes the Bosnian Serb forces donned UN uniforms in order to trick those fleeing into coming out of hiding. Other times the Bosnian Serb forces pretended to be government officers and used loudhailers to appeal for people to come into the open. One man in Hajrudin's column - maybe believing the appeals or just exhausted from the trek - walked down to a Bosnian Serb militia and begged for his life. As Hajrudin looked on in horror, one militia member took out his knife and said, just before killing him: "We didn't come here to negotiate with you - we came here to end things with you, once and for all." Hajrudin did not need to think anymore. He recounted: "This is when I realised that they would kill everyone. At about 2 or 3am, I decided to run. "I felt it was better to die trying to live, than await execution." Hajrudin's grim hunch proved to be right. Back in Srebrenica and its surrounding villages, and with UN peacekeepers having scuttled back to their barracks, the head of Bosnian Serb forces General Ratko Mladić was unleashing his murderous plans. As women and children were handed sweets and bread for the cameras, before being bussed out, his troops shot dead thousands upon thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys over 10 blood-soaked days. Mladić had a pathological hatred of Bosnian Muslims and had been ethnically cleansing them from the territory he controlled - a tactic he was only able to implement with the covert support of President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević. Hajrudin had ended up in Srebrenica because his village had been shelled by Bosnian Serb forces and the surviving members of his family were compelled to flee. "On the worst day of bombardment, 76 people - almost a quarter of the population - were killed in one day," he said. Video taken at Srebrenica, on the day the town fell, later became public. It showed General Mladić walking triumphantly through the streets and he could be heard describing the local population as "Turks" - an insult he regularly used. It was a reference that many Bosnian Muslims were descendants of the Ottoman Empire, which had occupied much of the territory in the 15th century. The context of Mladić's video was chilling, he said directly to the camera that "the time has come to take revenge on the Turks in this region". Srebrenica – named after its ancient silver mines - was a strategic town in eastern Bosnia Herzegovina. It was held by Bosniaks loyal to the government in Sarajevo, but quickly surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces when war broke out in 1992. It had been designated as a "safe haven" by the United Nations Security Council in April 1993, but the lightly armed and continuously undersupplied Dutch peacekeepers could not prevent the tightening of the Bosnian Serb siege. The truth was that the "safe haven" was never safe, just like the other towns and cities, given the designation the following month. This included Sarajevo, Žepa, Goražde and Bihać. By July 1995, after NATO bombers had been called back to their bases without having taken any military action, General Mladić decided to deploy the necessary forces to take over Srebrenica and take his genocidal "revenge". The world sat on its hands and looked on. Hajrudin was just 21-years-old when he fled Srebrenica and made his onerous bid for survival. "It got to the point where I just didn't trust anyone and the paranoia was intense," he said. Small wonder given that over the previous three years, one of his brothers had been shot dead by a Bosnian Serb sniper while another had been eviscerated by a Bosnian Serb artillery shell. Hajrudin had fled Srebrenica in the company of another brother, but they lost each other in the forest. Hajrudin learned later that he had died from a rocket or an artillery shell - his third brother to be killed at the hands of the marauding Bosnian Serb forces. He said: "I was [now] in a specific state of mind where I was living from one minute to the next. "I didn't think about anything beyond that … I'm an optimist by nature and faith that I would get through it." His 17-day escape to safety was slow and tortuous. "We were exhausted and the pain from hunger was horrible. If I sat down, I would dream of food," he said. Bosnian Serb forces deployed dogs to try and locate the Bosniaks. Hajrudin could hear their barks as the search teams got closer and closer but, thankfully, they faded away. His lowest ebb came when his group thought they had crossed into government-held territory but, in reality, they had had walked into the hell of an ambush. Gripping two precious pears he had found, Hajrudin came under fire at a destroyed village and he jumped into a trench, somehow managing to accidentally slash his throat in the process. They were being targeted from multiple directions. He recalled: "I managed to crawl out of the trench, but three of my friends were trapped inside. "One was a 17-year-old boy who was wounded and could not get out. The second asked for a gun to kill himself. "The third was wounded and clearly dying. The [Bosnian] Serb soldiers started approaching, but my dying friend created a distraction, giving me the chance to escape." Hajrudin's final hurdle involved passing through two Serb lines and evading a mobile patrol before finally making it to safety. "My parents treated my arrival like a gift from heaven," he said, adding "I will never forget the moment I saw my mum again and my father was seriously ill at the time, but seeing he had at least one son gave him a reason to live". Hajrudin's fourth brother, who also fled Srebrenica, did not make it to safety. He was buried in 2003 after his remains were located finally in a minefield. Apart from the anguish of losing four brothers, Hajruddin also was also gripped by an unquenchable rage. He told me that Bosniaks initially placed "great hopes" that the international community would protect them but, he added, they were "ultimately betrayed". "The actions of the international community helped the executioners, encouraged them," he said. It took another massacre, a mortar attack on a Sarajevo market which killed more than 40 people, before NATO-led airstrikes commenced on Bosnian Serb positions encircling the capital. The delayed military action is something Hajrudin still does not understand today. He said: "One cannot help but wonder why it took so long for international intervention to take place shortly after the fall of Srebrenica." When NATO planes undertook their bombing missions, Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić went into hiding - in Serbia. For years, he was protected and concealed by the Serbian military but, ultimately, his power waned. In 2011, it all came crashing down when he was arrested in Lazarevo, northern Serbia, and transferred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. In 2017, Mladić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws of war. He remains in jail. It was an outcome which, Hajrudin feels, was of "little consolation for the victims of genocide". That is in no small part due to the fact that Bosnian Serb forces killed four of his brothers. He said: "I was the only one who survived the genocide, although my survival is a miracle, namely that they intended to kill me too, but they failed. "I guess someone had to survive and spread the truth. "Srebrenica is my open wound that will never heal. Often, I dream and relive those nightmarish scenes. "The hardest thing is when July comes, and the commemorations begin. "Afterwards, I don't know if I'm better or worse. Every time I tell my personal story, I relive it all over again." He credits his religious beliefs for helping him withstand the horror inflicted on him, his family and wider community. Hajrudin feels he "must not lose optimism because that would be capitulation, which the perpetrators of genocide would be very happy about". He also feels there is an obligation on him to speak and commemorate. "As one of the rare survivors, I must be supportive of all those who might give up and giving up is never an option," he said. "Today, many of the survivors are successful athletes, doctors, professors - scattered across the world's meridians and parallels - always trying to make the world around them better," he added. To an extent, Hajrudin has fulfilled his own dream – he is the teacher he always wanted to be and lives in Sarajevo with his wife and children. But the anger has not dissipated. "After Srebrenica, the world said 'never again'. Unfortunately, as so many times, that 'never again' has been forgotten," he said. He cites Gaza as an example of that. "Today we live in a world that is rushing towards moral collapse by closing both eyes to the genocide in Gaza, the suffering in Sudan and many other places," he said. It also hurts that Srebrenica, today, remains under the control of the Bosnian Serb entity, called Republika Srpska, which has been led by its ultra-nationalist leader Milorad Dodik - a person who falsely claims there was not a genocide. Hajrudin said: "The peace agreement rewarded the aggressors and the policy of apartheid, sacrificing the Republic of Bosnia Herzegovina. "The consequences of such an approach are still felt today. "So, the victim was punished again and the perpetrators of genocide were rewarded." Last year, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the Srebrenica genocide, designating 11 July as the "International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica". It also declared that it should be observed annually. But the vote was not straight forward - Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić opposed the motion. The man whose political career began in 1993 with the far-right Serbian Radical Party, called on "everyone" in the UN General Assembly to oppose the designation, claiming it was "highly politicised". However, the resolution was adopted. It includes a provision which condemns any denial of the Srebrenica genocide as a historical event and any actions that glorify those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The Dáil will commemorate the Srebrenica genocide, with TDs observing a minute's silence on 10 July 10.
