Srebrenica is a Bosnian city 10 kilometers away from the Serbian border in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was named after the word “srebren,” which literally means “silver.” Srebrenica has a predominantly Serb population today but was a Muslim-majority region before the war. According to the 1990 census data gathered by Yugoslav authorities, 75.2 percent of Srebrenica, with a population of 36,666, was Muslim (Bosniak) whereas Serbs constituted only 22.7 percent of the total population.
In the course of the war, Srebrenica, Gorazde and Zepa were seized; it was also one of the natural blocks between the Bosnian Serbs and Belgrade. For this reason, the eastern part of Bosnia, whose population was predominantly Muslim, was subjected to ethnic cleansing by the Serbs during the war. The Muslims who ran away from these massacres and took refuge in these towns provided for the cities’ resistance. Tens of thousands of Muslims who escaped from neighboring cities like Bijeljina, Bratunac and Zvornik had to take refuge in Srebrenica, increasing the city’s population from 10,000 to 60,000. The UN Security Council, under resolutions 819 and 824 agreed in an emergency meeting on April 16, 1993, to declare Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zepa, Gorazde, Bihac and Srebrenica safe zones. However, the Serbs, who realized the war would end with the Dayton Peace Accords, attacked Gorazde and Srebrenica to gain an advantage and ended up committing one of the most horrendous massacres in history. Srebrenica, under the protection of 600 Dutch peacekeeping troops, two years after being declared a safe zone, fell victim to a campaign of mass murder on July 11, 1995. The Srebrenica genocide lasted for five days amid celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Europe’s victory over Fascism; 8,300 Bosnian Muslims were murdered during the campaign. Only six of the perpetrators of the genocide were tried and sentenced to jail, ranging from five to 46 years. Genocide suspect Radovan Karadzic was apprehended Monday night while his accomplice, Gen. Ratko Mladic, remains at large.
Srebrenica is the last of the genocides that took place within the former borders of the Ottoman state in the last few centuries. The Ottoman state, which retreated from the Greater Black Sea region (the Balkans, Crimea, the Caucasus and the Aegean region) following the second siege of Vienna, was subjected to systematic ethnic cleansing, genocide and forced migration policies. In this way, millions of Muslims had to settle down in Ottoman lands since the second half of the 19th century. Because of these settlements, almost 45 percent of present-day Turkey comprises descendants of people who had to settle in Anatolia because of genocide and exile.
The Artemis flower and blue butterflies were observed in the region where mass graves are located -- these had never before been seen in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thanks to the guidance of this flower and butterfly, new mass graves are located every day.
Serb Gen. Mladic, the architect of the genocide, stated that it was time to take revenge from the Turks. What was the fault of those who died in Srebrenica if revenge was to be taken from the Turks? What was their fault except that they followed a different religion and that their ancestors were once citizens of the Ottoman state? What was the fault of the Bosnians if an independent Muslim state with the legacy of the Ottoman state is not favored in Eastern Europe?
Every year, Australians and New Zealanders come to the Dardanelles to remember their ancestors who died during the Gallipoli War. But how many Turks go to Bosnia and Herzegovina to remember their ancestors who lost their lives in the 19th and 20th centuries or had to settle in Anatolia because of forced migration? This summer, how many Turks will go to Srebrenica to remember thousands of people who were subjected to rape and other inhumane treatment. I am not optimistic about this because Turks are not going anywhere but malls.
Who cares about Srebrenica these days?
