Across 100 kilometres, dem dey walk where Srebrenica ein dead once ran. Thirty years later, one man join thousands on a three-day journey along the once-deadly path of remembrance for Bosnia.
More than 7,000 people arrive for one tiny village inside Bosnia wey dem go commemorate victims. Nezuk and Potocari, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Thirty years ago, thousands of Bosniak men and boys emerge wey dem dey emaciated from de forests wey dey surround de quiet Bosnian village of Nezuk.
Dem ein gaunt faces and skeletal frames tell only part of de story – visible hints of one far deeper horror wey go fully emerge only after de mass graves of de 1995 Srebrenica genocide dem find am. Today, Sejfudin Dizdarevic, 48, dey live one life worlds apart from de desperate men wey once flee through dese woods. But he and thousands of others just spend three days dey walk de same path.
“Knowing dis history, e dey make you humble,” Dizdarevic talk about ein participation for de annual remembrance walk wey dem dey call am de Peace March. “Knowing say you dey go [on] de path [where] not only people dem kill, but also [say those] wey survive ... dey hide exactly for de spot [inside] wey you dey march now.”
For July 1995, de town of Srebrenica and surrounding villages fall give Bosnian Serb forces, whose nationalist and territorial ambitions dem dey embolden by de dissolution of de former Yugoslavia. Bosniak males, wey dem dey hunt dem, flee de area, cross de thickly forested slopes of eastern Bosnia for days and even weeks on end for one journey wey dem dey refer to am as “de death march”.
During dem ein trek, dem evade deceptive calls by Bosnian Serb forces, wey try lure dem go surrender with false promises of safety. Many of de Bosniak men dem...
Genocide ein Legal Limitations: Wetin Srebrenica Massacre fit teach us about Gaza
Dis July mark de thirtieth anniversary of de Srebrenica massacre, wey happen for one mountainous enclave for eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near de Serbian border. Between July 6 and 11, 1995, over 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and children where Bosnian Serbs kill dem for wetin de UN don declare say e be “safe area” under direct protection from blue-helmet peacekeepers. De scenes wey war journalists broadcast send shockwaves through de world, and mark one turning point for de West ein collective consciousness.
Today, as images from Gaza dey re-ignite de debate on wetin constitute genocide, e dey imperative say we look back for Srebrenica wey we go understand how international courts dey interpret dis crime.
Proving Genocidal Intent for Srebrenica
De International Criminal Tribunal for de former Yugoslavia (ICTY) recognize de Srebrenica massacre as genocide. Dis be one significant legal step, but e also leave one bitter taste for many of de victims. Dis be because de tribunal only deem de crimes wey dem commit for Srebrenica say e be genocide, despite other episodes of equally systematic violence against de Bosniak Muslim population for other areas.
Dis be de result of one extremely restrictive legal interpretation of de crime of genocide. According to de 1948 Convention on de Prevention and Punishment of de Crime of Genocide, e r