GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIACS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN THE UN SAFE AREA SREBRENICA, JULY 1995. | ||
By Professor SMAIL ČEKIĆ (PhD) Part II
The offensive of the Armed forces of “Republika Srpska”, supported by the units from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and volunteers from Russia and Greece, started on 6 July 1995 against the UN safe area Srebrenica. Bosniacs asked UNPROFOR to “return them their weapons, which they surrendered as part of the agreement on demilitarization from 1993”. However, the request was denied with the explanation that “UNPROFOR is accountable for the defense of the enclave, not them”. By the evening of 9 July, “Army of Republika Srpska” penetrated four kilometers inside the enclave, stopping only one kilometer away from Srebrenica. On 9 July (in early evening hours), Radovan Karadžić, having finished the discussion on the “events” in Srebrenica with Momčilo Krajišnik and Jovica Stanišić (State security of the Ministry of Interior from Serbia) announced the great Serbian genocidal intentions to exterminate Bosniacs. In his contact with Miroslav Deronjić, and upon his question “What do you, Miroslav, think to do with this population there?”, meaning in Srebrenica, UN safe area, Karadžić stated, having heard Deronjić that he could not even in his dreams foresee “the developments of the situation upon entering Srebrenica”: “Miroslav, they should all be killed ... all that you can”. In the morning on 10 July, the situation in Srebrenica was very tense. Serb forces for the active military operations, “especially around Srebrenica”, executed “their combat tasks as scheduled”, whereby they shelled Srebrenica, while the town was “full of people”, then the UN base in the northern part of the town., which was full of refugees, and where several people were injured, as well as hospital, where around 2,000 people found shelter, and killed six people there. People came to the streets and started running towards Potočari, UN base. Colonel Karemans sent urgent messages, asking for the NATO air support. Even though the situation deteriorated in UN safe area, General Janvier did not, even on 10 July, approve the air support. Dutch battalion commander in the night 10/11 July 1995, at the meeting in Srebrenica, informed the Bosniac political and military leadership that he gave an ultimatum to the great Serbian aggressor to withdraw out of the UN safe area, and that they have to inform him about their response by 11 July at 06:00 hours. In the event that the aggressor rejects the ultimatum, the air strikes would follow against the aggressor targets, “and the area south of town until Zeleni Jadar was declared ‘death area’ in which everything that moves would be targeted”. He suggested Bosniacs that the “civilians should be as far as possible from the confrontation line” (from the “current front line and keep safe at home”), and he “recommended” to the defense forces to vacate their positions. After that, the Command of the defense forces in Srebrenica made the decision to stop the planned counter attack in the earl morning hours, which was tragic for the defense of the enclave. Great Serbian forces took advantage of this and continued towards the town. On 11 July 1995, “Republika Srpska Army” took over Srebrenica, first UN safe area. At 14:07 hours, they raised the Serb flag above the bakery in the southern part of town. Around 14:30 hours, company “B” of the Dutch battalion left the base in Srebrenica. The population joined them towards Potočari, including refugees who found shelter in the company “B” base. By then, several requests for air support were denied at various levels of the UN system of command. General Janvier, despite the formal insisting to stop the shelling of civilians and violation of the UN safe area, “acknowledging the operations” undertaken by General Mladić ”in the territory of Srebrenica”, worried about comfort of 30 “captured” Dutch officers. Dutch battalion “did not fire a single bullet at the coming Serb forces”. At 16:20 hours, “Srebrenica was full of Serbs”. Around 16:30 hours, thousands of refugees tried to escape towards Potočari. In late afternoon hours, Generals Ratko Mladić, Milenko Živanović, Radislav Krstić, and other officers of Republika Srpska Army “victoriously” walked along Srebrenica streets, while thousands of refugees walked towards Potočari, desperately asking for the protection of the Dutch battalion. At the main square in Srebrenica, General Ratko Mladić stated: “Here we are, 11 July 1995 in Serb Srebrenica. In the eve of the Serb holiday, we give Serb people this town as a gift. Finally, the time has come that we can revenge here to Turks after the rebellion against the invaders.” Karadžić personally (“marketing purposes”, “he needs it for some reasons”) ordered that a Greek flag be raised next to the Serb flag in Srebrenica, whose citizens (Greeks), in addition to Russians and other, took part in the attack and the take over of Srebrenica. In the even and after the take over of Srebrenica, UN “safe area”, civilian population was in panic and they were running towards Potočari, waiting for the expected help in and around the UN base. By the evening of 11 July 1995, there were between 20,000 and 25,000 refugees in Potočari, mainly women, children, the elderly, and those not capable for army. Several thousand of people entered the UN base through the opening made by cutting the wire, when they sought shelter in warehouses, while others remained outside the base – in the factories and fields. There were between 1,000 and 2,000 men among women and children. None of them had any weapons. Conditions in Potočari were dreadful. There was no water, food, medicines, toilettes, and the July heat was intolerable. Situation was chaotic. Hungry and thirsty, people were squeezed, in fear. Sharp shooters shot at them, set houses on fire, which increased the fear in people, who were horrified. During the morning of 12 July 1995, General Ratko Mladić showed up in Potočari, accompanied by high-ranking officers of the Main Staff of the “Republika Srpska Army” and TV crews which recorded him giving sweets to children and falsely convincing people that nothing would happen to them. On 12 and 13 July 1995, Serb military and police forces, including the units from Serbia and “Republika Srpska Krajina”, in summary proceedings, in various places around the UN base in Potočari liquidated Bosniac men, even some women. Terror was intensified during the night. Cries, screaming, shooting and other intimidating sounds echoed throughout the night. Soldiers were taking out and away people from the crowds. The following day, in the morning of 13 July 1995, some refugees, looking for water, found heaps of bodies near a creek, a heap of slaughtered people (according to some witnesses – more than 300 of them), including some women among them (“decapitated or they did not have heads on their shoulders”). During 12 and 13 July 1995, “Republika Srpska Army” organized and executed the planned deportation of women, children, and the elderly from Potočari towards Kladanj. Around the noon of 12 July 1995, according to the previous plan, a number of buses and trucks, including vehicles from Serbia, started arriving to Potočari to deport women, children, and the elderly. Loading on the buses was carried out in the presence and under the control of Army and the special police units of “Republika Srpska”, with the support of the Dutch battalion. On 12 and 13 July 1995, in Potočari, there was the most systematic separation of men and boys from women and children. In the morning of 12 July, the great Serbian forces, in the presence started in the presence and upon the order of Ratko Mladić, and with the participation of police officers with dogs, picked and separated men and children from other refugees and took them, apprehended, and kept them in separate places in and around Potočari. On one side there were women and children who cried and screamed, especially children who watched their father being taken away, and on the other side the screaming, crying, yelling and shots were heard. This continued throughout the night of 12 July 1995. They took the separated individuals to a location in front of the Zink factory, and then during the same night they transported them on trucks to other places of incarceration. Once the refugees started embarking the buses, Serb police officer and soldiers systematically separated men who tried to sneak into the buses, depriving them of their personal property (personal documents and valuables). They also took those people to a building known as “White house” (in the immediate vicinity of the UN base), where they made them, before entering the building, leave their personal belonging, including money, personal ID’s, which they burnt later on. All the separated men were kept in very inhuman conditions, while some of them were tortured and killed. There were boys among them. The separation continued during the embarking the vehicles and the deportation. The largest number of separate Bosniacs in Potočari (over 1,000), starting on the 12 July afternoon throughout 13 July 1995, were loaded into separate vehicles and they were transported from Potočari to the places of incarceration in Bratunac. There, they also brought people who tried to escape on a column, and from there they took them all to the site of execution. The complete deportation of Bosniacs civilians from Potočari was finished in the evening of 13 July 1995, by 20:00 hours. That was the time when the Dutch battalion officers ordered refugees to leave their base. A number of Srebrenica UN “safe area” residents (between 10,000 and 15,000), trying to escape from the enclave, after the takeover of Srebrenica, gathered in the evening of 11 July 1995 in Šušnjari, looking for salvation in the free territory. Around one third of men were members of the 28 Division, of which majority were unarmed. Others were civilians, including women and children. They started running away, in a long column through the forests towards Tuzla. Great Serbian forces, on 12 July, continued their military operation as scheduled. Army and the Ministry of Interior of “Republika Srpska” shelled the refugee column from all the directions. The artillery was engaged from different locations, including the systems of large caliber. Around 10:00 hours, once the column was ambushed, they engaged the mortars. There were many injured and killed in the area of Hajdučko groblje, below Bokčin potok. Around 100 people were killed in only one valley. To be continued…
* This problem was studied based on numerous relevant sources of different provenience, kept in the Archive of the INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE SARAJEVO UNIVERSITY and other results, including the Research of the Republika Srpska Government from 2004 and 2005. Due to limited space, the text is shortened, and the scientific apparatus is mainly removed from the body test. | ||
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