Srebrenica massacre’s tensions still felt 30 years on

Silence is destroyed by severe screaming. A group of people on the ground, sifting through the soil. One of them carries an hour they discovered; Another, sandal.

The scene on the stage of the war in Sarajevo is uncomfortable with the audience in the first world show of Srebrenica’s flowers. The play reflects the dark reality of events not only in July 1995 – but the contracts that followed this of sadness and divisions that were not resolved in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Sri Labrinika massacre is still the most notorious crime of war committed in Europe since World War II. The Bosnian-Serb Serbrinkic forces passed through the east of Bosnia, where thousands of Bosnians, mostly Muslims, resorted to that they were safely under the protection of the United Nations.

Instead, the Dutch soldiers stood aside, as the Bosnian general directed General Ratko Maladic his forces to put women and young children on buses to transport to the Bosnaca majority areas. Then, during the following days, he supervised the systematic killing of about 8,000 people – most of them, but not all, men and children.

Maladic forces flooded the bodies in mass graves. But later, to cover up their crimes, they extracted them and then buried the remains in multiple locations.

As a result, the parts of the body were distributed through multiple graves, causing endless pain for the families of the victims. Many of them are still looking for the remains of their relatives after decades, although the DNA test helped thousands of families to bury their families in the Botokari cemetery, next to the previous United Nations base.

Others were able to identify the parts of the body through scraps of clothes or personal property – as shown in scenes in Srebrenica flowers.

The play also apparently reflects in -depth divisions in contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina. While the audience in Sarajevo offers an applause standing to the staff and crew, in the majority of Rippolica SRPSKA, political leaders have repeatedly denied that genocide occurred in Serbrinkica, although MLADIć is condemning the politics in the crime of Radovan Cardwan.

“I thought that when thirty years passed, we got to our senses,” says Selma Alessevic, the leading actress of the Sarajevo War Theater.

“People are tired of proving the truth that it has proven several times, even in international courts. The story of hatred and spinning in facts only serve criminals who have benefited from war and who want to maintain their wealth today.”

The deprivation of genocide is not the only symptom of the country’s departments. The Diton Peace Agreement put an end to the war, just four months after the massacre. But he also divided Bosnia and Herzegovina into “two entities”, on an ethnic basis. Most Bosnians and Croats live in the union, while the majority of the Serbs are to return the audience SRPSKA.

There is also a state government, with a member of the presidency of each of the three major ethnic groups. But most of the force is located at the level of the entity.

In recent months, the President of Republika Srpska has taken advantage of this to make harm. Milorad Dodik was pressing legislation to withdraw from many national institutions, including the judiciary. This brought him in a conflict with the final power of Bosnia, the high international actor.

The current bearer of this situation, Christian Schmidt, canceled the relevant laws. But Dodik refused to recognize these provisions.

Earlier this year, the court sentenced him to a year’s imprisonment and a six -year ban from a general position for ignoring the decisions of the high actor. The ruling is currently under appeal.

This was followed by Sengan – including legislation to create a “reserve police force”. The same terms were used for the deadly Serbian militia during the Bosnia struggle.

“This is dangerous, it plays with the memory of those who have suffered from the nineties,” Schmidt says.

“I see the irresponsible part of the political class playing with this. We need a clear presence of the international community at the military level – so Eufor [the EU peacekeeping force] He bears more responsibility in the massive existence, and they prepared with people supported in a peaceful way. “

In the middle of Sarajevo, it is difficult to miss the Sri -Dreura massacre. Hundreds of people gathered under umbrellas in the rainfall to push their respect to the convoy that carries the remains of seven victims that were recently buried in the Botokari cemetery during the celebration. Outside the city’s shopping centers, videos are urged to remember “Srebrenica”.

But only 15 minutes on the road, in East Sarajevo, there are no general signals to the massacre. Signs of Sriilli script and jilin Al -Bireh umbrellas indicate that this is Republika SRPSKA. In the entity’s government building, there is little enthusiasm for celebrations.

In fact, the state-level foreign trade minister, Sasha Kusarak-is a prominent member of the Dodic SNSD party-that Serbrienica is used to deepen the departments and prevent reconciliation.

“In this country, Bosnians, Croats and Serbs – were committed by crimes from all three parties. It is important, when thinking about the future, that all the perpetrators, from all sides, should take responsibility,” he says.

“The Bosnians insist on talking only about the Bosnac victims. It has been committed in Sri Liberta – none of the Serbs deny this – but we have the right to refer to crimes against Serbs in Sri Liberta and around it.”

But thousands of other people focus on solidarity with Srebrenica. On the eve of the celebration, the Bottochari Cemetery and the Botokari Cemetery were already busy with the people who pay their respect. They chanted with the arrival of all parts of the bike passenger groups, contestants and motorcyclists.

Merilla Osmanovich says this support is very important for the Bosnia who have returned to live in the area where their family died. She was born two years after her two brothers were killed in Sri Labrinika and is now working in the memorial center. But the recent tensions left it shook.

“The intense atmosphere produced by the leaders of Republika Srpska really bother us, which makes us feel that we are no longer protected – and we are really worried about our future.”

“My parents say it looks as it appeared in 1992.”

For Milurad Dodik, tampering with the tensions is just part of his strategy to stay in power. But for people in Srebrenica, continuous political ethnic games make recovery more difficult.