Voices from Srebrenica
Voices from Srebrenica
Survivor Narratives of the Bosnian Genocide
Ann Petrila and Hasan Hasanovi
Foreword by Emir Suljagi
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Names: Petrila, Ann, 1956 author. | Hasanovic, Hasan, 1975 author. |
Suljagic, Emir, writer of foreword.
Title: Voices from Srebrenica : survivor narratives of the Bosnian Genocide / Ann Petrila and Hasan Hasanovic ; foreword by Emir Suljagic.
Other titles: Survivor narratives of the Bosnian Genocide
Description: Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc.,
Publishers, 2021 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020040781 | ISBN 9781476683348 (paperback : acid free paper)
ISBN 9781476641645 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Yugoslav War, 19911995AtrocitiesBosnia and
HerzegovinaSrebrenica. | Yugoslav War, 19911995Personal narratives,
Bosnian. | Genocide survivorsBosnia and HerzegovinaSrebrenica. |
GenocideBosnia and HerzegovinaSrebrenica. |
MuslimsPersecutionsBosnia and HerzegovinaSrebrenica. | Srebrenica
(Bosnia and Herzegovina)History20th century.
Classification: LCC DR1313.32.S68 P48 2020 | DDC 949.703dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020040781
British Library cataloguing data are available
ISBN (print) 978-1-4766-8334-8
ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4766-4164-5
2021 Ann Petrila and Hasan Hasanovi. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover image Pilica Cultural Center execution site (photograph Kristian Skei)
Printed in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
To those who survived the Srebrenica genocide
and to those who did not
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel
Acknowledgments
We could not have written this book without the help and support of so many magnificent people in our lives. We thank all of you. To our families for their patience while we focused on this book for a very long time: Ben, Ellen, John, Amy, Jim, and Judy Petrila; Nermina, Denita, Omer, and Sabra Hasanovi. Many of them also gave generously of their time in reading draft after draft of chapters, along with Emily Gamm, Monica Green and especially Cat Galley. Thank you to our student assistants who were invaluable in helping with research and countless other tasks: Claire Marrow, Kelly Reeves and Kylie Bovenzi. To Dean James Herbert Williams and Dean Amanda Moore McBride for their ongoing support and encouragement. And to Dr. Emir Suljagi and Hasan Nuhanovi.To those who housed us and fed us in Bosnia: Anesa and her parents in Srebrenica, Raza and efko at Hotel Kovai in Sarajevo, and Hasans mother in Lukavac. Thank you to Kristian Skeie for the generous use of his photographs and to Michael Bowers for drawing original maps for us to use. To Duka Jurii for connecting us with the human rights advocates in Serbia, Amir Kulagli for explaining REKOM in a way that we understood, and Jimmye Warren for unraveling the mysteries of joint criminal enterprise. efik Sulji our friend and driver who took care of us in innumerable ways. To Sladjana Todorovic who has been a support every step of the way. To Layla Milholen, managing editor at McFarland, for her wisdom, patience and most of all for caring about these stories and the people who lived through this genocide. And to our friends, many thanks for encouraging us and waiting for us to reappearyou know who you are.
Most importantly, we must express our gratitude to those who courageously agreed to be interviewed for this book, for their stories to be heard so that justice might be better served.
Table of Contents
Acronyms
APC : Armored personnel carrier
BiH : Bosnia and Herzegovina
BSA : Bosnian Serb Army
CANBAT : Canadian Battalion
DUTCHBAT : Dutch Battalion
EU : European Union
HR : High Representative
ICC : International Criminal Court
ICJ : International Court of Justice
ICMP : International Commission on Missing Persons
ICTY : International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
IFOR : Implementation Force, NATO, and Russia
JNA : Yugoslav Peoples Army
MSF : Mdicins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without Borders)
NATO : North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NGO : Nongovernmental organization
OHR : Office of the High Representative
OSCE : Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
RECOM/REKOM : Regional Commission
RS : Republika Srpska
UN : United Nations
UNDP : United Nations Development Program
UNESCO : United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNHCR : United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNPF : United Nations Peacekeeping Force
UNPROFOR : United Nations Protection Force
USAID : United States Agency for International Development
WIB : Women in Black
Definitions
Bosniak
Bosnian Muslims.
Bosnian Army
Armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, official military force of the BiH state.
Bosnian Serb Army (BSA)
Paramilitary established by Bosnian Serb rebels, controlled by Radovan Karadi and Ratko Mladi.
Canadian Battalion
UN Peacekeepers who arrived in Srebrenica on April 18, 1993.
Chetniks
Originally a term for a Serbian nationalistic guerrilla force formed in Serbia during World War II. Became a term used to describe Serb forces in Bosnia during the 1990s war.
Column
Single-file line of moving people .
Dayton Peace Agreement
Officially called The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina , this is the agreement that officially ended the war. It is also known as Dayton, the Dayton Agreement, the Dayton Accords and the Dayton Peace Accords.
Death March
Sixty-mile (100 kilometer) walk through the forest from Srebrenica to Tuzla made by approximately 12,000 men and boys attempting to escape the genocide in July 1995.
Dutch Battalion
UN Peacekeepers who arrived in Srebrenica at the end of January 1994 to replace the Canadian Peacekeepers.
Enclave
Territory that is completely surrounded by the territory of one other state or parastate.
European Union
International organization comprised of 27 European countries which governs common economic, social, and security policies.
Genocide
Specific acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
High Representative (HR)
Oversees the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Appointed by the UN Security Council, is from the international community.
Implementation Force (IFOR)
NATO-led multinational force in Bosnia with a one-year mandate starting on December 20, 1995.
International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP)