Massacre of 3,000 Muslims Taking Spotlight
As NATO Focuses on Resolution of War Crimes
(February 13)As Bosnian Serb forces closed in on the United Nations "safe area" of Srebrenica in early July, 1995, 12,000 young Muslim men gathered on a hill outside the town. Terrified of being killed by advancing Serbs, they gambled their lives on an 60-mile flight to freedom through enemy territory to reach safety in Muslim-held Tuzla. Setting off at dawn on July 11, in two columns stretching seven or eight miles, fewer than half of the 12,000 made it to safety, according to international human-rights organizations and Bosnian officials.The full story of the massacre of those who did not survive has been lost in crisis surrounding the Bosnian War—until now. Today (Feb 13), U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke, who has helped put the war crimes issue at the heart of the Bosnian peace process, called the capture of Srebrenica by Bosnian Serbs a "huge, huge war crime" that turned a significant corner for the Unites States.
Commenting on U.S. involvement in Bosnia, Holbrooke told reporters at the end of a brief visit to Bucharest, Romania, that the Srebrenica incident ultimately led to involvement by the United States which led to the current NATO action in the Balkans. Holbrooke's comment has again focused world attention on the victims of the massacre in Eastern Bosnia last summer. Indeed, many are now feeling safe to call it a massacre.
Last week a senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said he was convinced 3,000 Bosnian Muslims rounded up by Serbs at Srebrenica had been massacred. It was the first time any official of the ICRC—known as an ultra-cautious organization—had voiced its belief that the 3,000 men rounded up by the Serbs in the enclave were dead.
On Tuesday, (Feb 13) Holbooke was asked whether two Bosnian Serb officers, General Djordje Djukic and Colonel Aleksa Krsmanovic, who were taken to The Hague on suspicions of war crimes in the Former Yugoslavia, might be linked to killings in Srebrenica. "There might be, there might not be (involvement). We are not allowed to know that information, " Holbrooke told reporters. "They are not supposed to share it with us. Although I did meet briefly with Goldstone's people in Sarajevo... we were very careful not to pierce the veil of absolute confidentiality on these matters."
"As for their status in The Hague, they have been requested by justice Goldstone who has the authority to do so under international law and U.N. mandate, Holbrooke added. "They have their own lawyers and they are not yet formally charged," Holbrooke said.
The Massacre of Muslims at Srebrenica from The Washington Post
Exposing Europe's Worst Massacre Since the Holocaust from The Christian Science Monitor
Possible Grave Sites Identified By US Intelligence from The Christian Science Monitor
Reports concerning human rights abuses in Bosnia published by Intac Access
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia from the United Nations
Coalition for International Justice
Major War Criminals/Suspects from CalTech's Bosnia Site
Reports on War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia from CalTech's Bosnia Site
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