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Observer
4 days ago
- Observer
Bosnia commemorates genocide
Srebrenica: Thousands of mourners on Friday commemorated in Srebrenica the genocide committed 30 years ago by Bosnian Serb forces, one of Europe's worst atrocities since World War II. The remains of seven victims were laid to rest during the commemorations, which mark the bloodiest episode of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s. They included those of Sejdalija Alic, one of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed by Bosnian Serb forces after they captured the eastern town on July 11, 1995. His grand-daughter Anela Alic, whose father was also killed in the massacre and was buried earlier, came to attend the funeral. "I never saw my father... and today, my grandfather is being buried, just some of his bones, next to his son. "It's a deep sadness... I have no words to describe it," the 32-year-old added, in tears. She was born in early 1994 after her pregnant mother was evacuated in a Red Cross convoy from the ill-fated town. The victims of Srebrenica, which was at the time a UN-protected enclave, were buried in mass graves. 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 forces had the remains removed to secondary mass graves, causing many of the bodies to be shredded by heavy machinery, according to experts. - 'Tombstone to caress' - "For 30 years we have carried the pain in our souls," said Munira Subasic, president of the association Mothers of Srebrenica. She lost her husband Hilmo and 17-year-old son Nermin 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 under white tombstones on Friday at the memorial centre after a joint prayer 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. 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, at one of five mass-execution sites of the massacre, the only atrocity of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war 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. By visiting the graves the victims' relative try to find some comfort. "I have only this tombstone to caress, to pray next to it," said Sefika Mustafic standing next to the graves of her sons Enis and Salim, who were both teenagers when killed. "I'd like to dream about them but it doesn't work. I've said thousands of times 'Come my children, Come into my dream' ... I say it when I pray, when I come here, but it doesn't work." - Serb denial - Canadian veteran Daniel Chenard, deployed with UN peacekeepers here from October 1993 until March 1994 when the Dutch troops took over, attended commemorations haunted by the feeling of guilt for decades. "I forgave myself... I found peace. I always wanted to tell them (victims' families): 'I apologise... I'm sorry for abandoning you'. "We (UN troops) did what we could... but the tragedy still happened," the 58-year-old said, in tears. 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. 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. On Friday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic voiced condolences to the Srebrenica victims families on behalf of citizens of Serbia calling the massacre a "terrible crime". "We cannot change the past, but we must change the future," he posted on X.
Bangkok Post
5 days ago
- Bangkok Post
Bosnia commemorates Srebrenica genocide 30 years on
SREBRENICA, Bosnia - Thousands of mourners on Friday commemorated in Srebrenica the genocide committed 30 years ago by Bosnian Serb forces, one of Europe's worst atrocities since World War II. The remains of seven victims were laid to rest during the commemorations, which mark the bloodiest episode of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s. They included those of Sejdalija Alic, one of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed by Bosnian Serb forces after they captured the eastern town on July 11, 1995. His grand-daughter Anela Alic, whose father was also killed in the massacre and was buried earlier, came to attend the funeral. 'I never saw my father … and today, my grandfather is being buried, just some of his bones, next to his son. 'It's a deep sadness… I have no words to describe it,' the 32-year-old added, in tears. She was born in early 1994 after her pregnant mother was evacuated in a Red Cross convoy from the ill-fated town. The victims of Srebrenica, which was at the time a UN-protected enclave, were buried in mass graves. 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 forces had the remains removed to secondary mass graves, causing many of the bodies to be shredded by heavy machinery, according to experts. 'Tombstone to caress' 'For 30 years we have carried the pain in our souls,' said Munira Subasic, president of the association Mothers of Srebrenica. She lost her husband Hilmo and 17-year-old son Nermin 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 under white tombstones on Friday at the memorial centre after a joint prayer 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. 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, at one of five mass-execution sites of the massacre, the only atrocity of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war 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. By visiting the graves the victims' relative try to find some comfort. 'I have only this tombstone to caress, to pray next to it,' said Sefika Mustafic standing next to the graves of her sons Enis and Salim, who were both teenagers when killed. 'I'd like to dream about them but it doesn't work. I've said thousands of times 'Come my children, Come into my dream' … I say it when I pray, when I come here, but it doesn't work.' Serb denial Canadian veteran Daniel Chenard, deployed with UN peacekeepers here from October 1993 until March 1994 when the Dutch troops took over, attended commemorations haunted by the feeling of guilt for decades. 'I forgave myself… I found peace. I always wanted to tell them (victims' families): 'I apologise… I'm sorry for abandoning you'. 'We (UN troops) did what we could … but the tragedy still happened,' the 58-year-old said, in tears. 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. 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. On Friday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic voiced condolences to the Srebrenica victims families on behalf of citizens of Serbia calling the massacre a 'terrible crime'.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- News.com.au
Bosnia commemorates Srebrenica genocide 30 years on
Thousands of mourners on Friday commemorated in Srebrenica the genocide committed 30 years ago by Bosnian Serb forces, one of Europe's worst atrocities since World War II. The remains of seven victims were laid to rest during the commemorations, which mark the bloodiest episode of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s. They included those of Sejdalija Alic, one of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed by Bosnian Serb forces after they captured the eastern town on July 11, 1995. His grand-daughter Anela Alic, whose father was also killed in the massacre and was buried earlier, came to attend the funeral. "I never saw my father ... and today, my grandfather is being buried, just some of his bones, next to his son. "It's a deep sadness... I have no words to describe it," the 32-year-old added, in tears. She was born in early 1994 after her pregnant mother was evacuated in a Red Cross convoy from the ill-fated town. The victims of Srebrenica, which was at the time a UN-protected enclave, were buried in mass graves. 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 forces had the remains removed to secondary mass graves, causing many of the bodies to be shredded by heavy machinery, according to experts. - 'Tombstone to caress' - "For 30 years we have carried the pain in our souls," said Munira Subasic, president of the association Mothers of Srebrenica. She lost her husband Hilmo and 17-year-old son Nermin 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 under white tombstones on Friday at the memorial centre after a joint prayer 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. 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, at one of five mass-execution sites of the massacre, the only atrocity of Bosnia's 1992-1995 war 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. By visiting the graves the victims' relative try to find some comfort. "I have only this tombstone to caress, to pray next to it," said Sefika Mustafic standing next to the graves of her sons Enis and Salim, who were both teenagers when killed. "I'd like to dream about them but it doesn't work. I've said thousands of times 'Come my children, Come into my dream' ... I say it when I pray, when I come here, but it doesn't work." - Serb denial - Canadian veteran Daniel Chenard, deployed with UN peacekeepers here from October 1993 until March 1994 when the Dutch troops took over, attended commemorations haunted by the feeling of guilt for decades. "I forgave myself... I found peace. I always wanted to tell them (victims' families): 'I apologise... I'm sorry for abandoning you'. "We (UN troops) did what we could ... but the tragedy still happened," the 58-year-old said, in tears. 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. 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. On Friday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic voiced condolences to the Srebrenica victims families on behalf of citizens of Serbia calling the massacre a "terrible crime". "We cannot change the past, but we must change the future," he posted on X.
France 24
5 days ago
- France 24
Relatives of Srebrenica genocide victims seek peace 30 years on
Officially, Sejdalija Alic and Hasib Omerovic have finally been found and will be buried on Friday next to thousands of other victims killed exactly 30 years ago in the Srebrenica genocide. But their loved ones will lay in the ground only a bone or two, hoping it will be enough to bring peace to both the dead and the living. The two men were among the more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed by Bosnian Serb forces after they captured the town on July 11, 1995, in one of Europe's worst atrocities since World War II. About 1,000 victims are still reported missing, according to authorities. "Everyone called him "Brko" ("Moustache"). I never saw him without his moustache. What a charmer he was!" said Mirzeta Karic of her father, Sejdalija Alic, with a gentle smile on her face. In December 1993, more than a year after the start of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war, "Brko" and his daughter, then aged 18, were the last to flee their village of Jagodnja, in the Srebrenica area, under fire from Bosnian Serb forces. "It was snowing and I only had socks on my feet. Each of us with a fifty-kilo (110-pound) bag of cereals on our backs, we headed for Srebrenica", Karic, now 50, said. 15:58 The United Nations had declared the ill-fated town a "protected zone", drawing in tens of thousands of Muslims hoping to find refuge. But they were trapped. In early 1994, Karic was on the road again, evacuated from Srebrenica in a Red Cross convoy with her mother and her pregnant sister-in-law. Her sick father and brother Sejdin remained. "My father took me in his arms and started to cry. He told me: 'We'll meet again one day'. His words still ring in my ears. I never saw him again, and neither did I see my brother," Karic, who has lived in Sweden since 1998, told AFP. She is now returning to Bosnia to attend her father's funeral on Friday. He will be the 50th member of her family to be laid to rest at the memorial cemetery in Potocari alongside her five uncles and their five sons. Her brother Sejdin, aged 22 when he was killed, was buried in 2003. 'One bone only' "I've been able to endure everything, but I think this funeral will be the worst. We're having a bone buried. I can't describe the pain," said Karic, who named her son after her father. Only the lower jaw of her father was found in the mass graves where Bosnian Serb forces moved the corpses of the victims months after the massacre in a bid to cover up the crime. Many of their remains were shredded by heavy machinery in the process, experts have said, often leaving forensic experts with not much more than a few bones to identify victims through DNA testing. A jawbone will also be placed in the coffin of Hasib Omerovic, who will be buried on Friday. "Thirty years on, I have nothing to wait for anymore," said his wife, Mevlida Omerovic. "It's better to have them buried, even if it's just two bones, and to be able to visit his grave with the children," the 55-year-old added. Hasib Omerovic and his brother were detained together and probably executed at one of the five main mass execution sites in the Srebrenica region, she said. He was 33 years old. The family separated on July 11, 1995, when Mevlida Omerovic left with their nine-year-old daughter and six-year-old son for the UN base. Hasib and Mevlida said goodbye in the street. "All he told me was: 'Take good care of our children'. Those were his last words," she remembered in tears at her current home in Srebrenik, in Bosnia's northeast. "When I look at my children, I see him. He was at the best age to live, handsome as can be, like a rose, intelligent. But it is fate." 'We were happy' Hasib's sister will not be attending his funeral. She died a week before. "Her three sons were killed, her husband, her two brothers. She lost all her men. Her heart couldn't hold on any longer," Mevlida Omerovic said. The woman still hopes to find the remains of another brother, Senad, aged 17 when he was killed, in the woods around Srebrenica. With her brother's photo in one hand and her husband's in the other, Mevlida Omerovic recalled their pre-war life with a spark in her blue eyes. The couple had just constructed a house. Hasib worked in a large bauxite mine, where he maintained the machines, and Mevlida worked in a village grocery store. "A beautiful soul, nice with everyone. He had a lot of Serb friends who respected him (before the war) and I thought that would save him," she said. "We loved and respected each other. We were happy. That's the greatest wealth. One can buy everything but not happiness. However, happiness doesn't last long. Everything beautiful is short-lived," she said.
Al Arabiya
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
‘Can't describe the pain': Bosnia marks 30 years since Srebrenica massacre
Three decades after the Srebrenica genocide, relatives are still looking for and burying the remains of more than 8,000 men and boys killed by Bosnian Serb forces, revealing the painful scars cut deep into the country. On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb forces stormed the Muslim enclave of more than 40,000 people in eastern Bosnia. At the time, it was a 'UN protected zone' - an ultimately hollow phrase meant to shield the many displaced people who had fled the 1992-1995 war. General Ratko Mladic's forces executed thousands of men and boys before burying them in mass graves. After decades of painstaking work, about 7,000 victims have been identified and properly buried, but about 1,000 remain missing. Mass grave discoveries are now rare. The last was uncovered in 2021, when the remains of 10 victims were exhumed 180 kilometers (112 miles) southwest of Srebrenica. This year, the remains of seven victims will be buried during the July 11 commemorations at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Centre, including two 19-year-old men and a 67-year-old woman. One bone found 'This year, I'm having my father buried. But only one bone, his lower jaw,' Mirzeta Karic told AFP. The 50-year-old said her mother was very ill, and so she decided to go ahead with the burial without waiting for more remains to be found. Her father, Sejdalija Alic, joined several thousand men and teenagers who tried to flee Mladic's troops through the dense forests. He failed. His 22-year-old son, Sejdin, was also killed, as were Alic's three brothers and their four sons. He will be Karic's 50th immediate family member laid to rest at Potocari cemetery. The ceremony for her brother, Sejdin, was in 2003. 'I've been able to endure everything, but I think this funeral will be the worst. We're having a bone buried. I can't describe the pain.' 'Still in 1995' An international criminal court sentenced Mladic, now 83, and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, now 80, to life jail terms for war crimes and genocide during the conflict that left nearly 100,000 dead. Both are still incarcerated, but a proper reckoning inside the splintered Bosnian states remains overdue. Political leaders in the Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska, reject the term genocide and regularly downplay the massacre. 'This denial is trivialized,' Neira Sabanovic, a researcher at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, said. 'It is very rare to find someone in Republika Srpska who acknowledges that there was genocide,' she said. Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik remains one of the most heard voices of genocide-denial in the statelet and Serbia. Of 305 instances of denial or downplaying in Serbian and the Bosnian Serb media during 2024, he leads the way, appearing 42 times, according to an annual study published by the Srebrenica Memorial Centre. Last year, an international day of remembrance was established by the United Nations to mark the Srebrenica genocide, despite protests from Belgrade and Republika Srpska. On Saturday, political leaders from the Bosnian Serb entity and Serbia, along with dignitaries from the Serbian Orthodox Church, will gather in Bratunac, near Srebrenica, for a commemoration of more than 3,200 eastern Bosnian Serb soldiers and civilians killed during the war. Portraits of some 600 of these dead were hung along the road this week near the Srebrenica Memorial Centre. 'These people are not participating in the same debate. They are having a conversation with themselves, and they are still in 1995,' the director of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre, Emir Suljagic, told local television on Thursday. 'We have won a very important battle, the battle for international recognition,' he added, referring to the UN resolution.
