Bosnian genocide denial is the act of denying the occurrence of the systematic genocide against the Bosniak Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or asserting it did not occur in the manner or to the extent that has been established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) through proceedings and judgments, and described by comprehensive scholarship.
In its judgment, the ICJ adopted the ICTY's conclusion from Radislav Krstić's conviction and concluded what happened in and around Srebrenica was done by members of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) "with the specific intent to destroy in part the group of the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina as such, which constitute acts of genocide committed". The two international courts have ruled differently only concerning direct responsibility for acts of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ICJ, in a proceeding of the Bosnian genocide case that was brought by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro, has made rulings to the extent that Serbia was not directly responsible for the perpetration of genocide but was responsible under "customary international law" for violating the obligation to "prevent and punish the crime of genocide". Other international bodies, such as the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations General Assembly, have also passed resolutions acknowledging genocide occurred in Bosnia. German courts have made convictions based upon a more expansive interpretation of genocide than that used by international courts.
The origins of denial lie within groups of Serbian and international scholars, and are supported in part by Serb and international political bodies and media. After the Bosnian War, Serb culture generated a stance that Serbs were the aggrieved party and that historical events had curtailed national goals. Sonja Biserko has drawn parallels with other examples of negationist historical revisionism and denialism, such as denial of genocides in Armenia and Rwanda.
During the Yugoslav Wars, Serb policies and their foremost protagonists were whitewashed and justified by some "anti-war" and "anti-imperialist" public intellectuals and authors abroad, mostly on the left of the ideological spectrum, but also by libertarian right-wingers, and this has sometimes become outright denial.
Background
The term "Bosnian genocide" is sometimes used to refer to the genocide in Srebrenica perpetrated by Bosnian Serb forces in summer of 1995, or refers to the broader crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing campaign throughout areas controlled by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS)Roy Gutman, A Witness to Genocide: The 1993 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Dispatches on the "Ethnic Cleansing" of Bosnia during the 1992–1995 Bosnian War.John Richard Thackrah (2008) The Routledge companion to military conflict since 1945, Routledge Companions Series, Taylor & Francis, 2008, , . pp. 81, 82 "Bosnian genocide can mean either the genocide committed by the Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995 or the ethnic cleansing during the 1992–95 Bosnian War" Genocide scholars widely acknowledge it as the biggest war crime perpetrated on European soil since World War II.
The events in Srebrenica in 1995 included the killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys, and the mass expulsion of another 25,000–30,000 Bosniak civilians, in and around the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was committed by units of the VRS under the command of General Ratko Mladić.ICTY; "Address by ICTY President Theodor Meron, at Potocari Memorial Cemetery" The Hague, 23 June 2004 ICTY.orgICTY; "Krstic judgement" UNHCR.org
The ethnic cleansing campaign took place in areas controlled by the Bosnian Serb forces, and targeted Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats. This campaign included extermination; unlawful confinement; mass rape; sexual assault; torture; plunder and destruction of property; inhumane treatment of civilians; the targeting of political leaders, intellectuals, and professionals; it also included the unlawful deportation and transfer of civilians; the unlawful shelling of civilians; the unlawful appropriation and plunder of real and personal property, the destruction of homes and businesses, and systemic destruction of places of worship.ICTY; "Karadžić and Mladić indictment. Paragraphs 17, 18 and 19" ICTY.org
The United Nations tasked the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with prosecuting the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars, including the Bosnian War. The ICJ (International Court of Justice) decided on the Bosnian genocide case, a public international law case brought by Bosnia and Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro. The ICJ, in a proceeding Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro, adopted the ICTY's conclusion from Radislav Krstić's conviction and concluded events that occurred in and around Srebrenica from 13 July 1995 were perpetrated by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) "with the specific intent to destroy in part the group of the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina as such, which constitute acts of genocide committed". The ICJ ruled, however, although Serbia and Montenegro had provided significant assistance to Republika Srpska, it was not established it was responsible for perpetrating the crime of genocide nor had it violated its obligations to "prevent and punish the crime of genocide". The court confirmed genocide took place at Srebrenica in July 1995 and that Serbia had not planned nor encouraged this genocide but that it was guilty of not doing everything in its power to prevent it.
Besides the ICTY and the ICJ, other international bodies such as the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations General Assembly also passed resolutions acknowledging genocide occurred in Bosnia. The 2005 resolutions of the United States Congress and Senate said; "the Serbian policies of aggression and ethnic cleansing meet the terms defining genocide". Three convictions for genocide have been made in courts in Germany.European Court of Human Rights – Jorgic v. Germany Judgment, 12 July 2007. § 36, 47, 107, 108, 111
According to Theodor Meron, the Presiding Judge at the ICTY:
Culture and politics of denial
Definition and origins Bosnian genocide denial is an act of denying the genocide against the Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina occurred, or asserting it did not occur in the manner or to the extent that has been established by the ICTY and the ICJ through their proceedings and judgments, and described by subsequent comprehensive scholarship.
The origins of denial lie with a group of Serbian nationalists, who were supported by part of the Serb political and media establishment. The post-war situation generated a stance within Serb culture that Serbs were the aggrieved side and that historical events had curtailed national goals. Sonja Biserko, president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia at the time, drew parallels with other examples of negationist historical revisionism and denialism, such as denial of the Armenian and Rwandan genocides. According to Biserko, methods range from the "brutal to the deceitful". She noted denial in Serbia is present "most strongly in political discourse, in the media, in the sphere of law, and in the educational system". Biserko and the University of Sarajevo's criminology professor Edina Bećirević have identified a "culture of denial" in Serbian society, stating; "Denial of the Srebrenica genocide takes many forms in Serbia".
Tactics and methods
During the Bosnian War, Serbia's President Slobodan Milošević had effective control of most of Serbia's media. Following the end of the war, denialism continued to be widespread among Serbians. Revisionism ranges from challenging the judicial recognition of the killings as an act of genocide to the denial of the occurrence of a massacre. A variety of methods is used to deny genocide.
Attempted cover-up by means of reburials
From approximately 1 August 1995 to 1 November 1995, there was an organized effort on behalf of the military and political leadership of Republika Srpska to remove bodies from primary mass graves, and move them to secondary and tertiary sites. The reburial was crudely done using heavy, mechanized vehicles such as trenchers and baggers. In the ICTY court case "Prosecutor v. Blagojević and Jokić", the trial chamber found this reburial effort was an attempt to conceal evidence of mass murder. The trial chamber found the cover-up operation was ordered by the Bosnian Serb Army (BSA) Main Staff, and was subsequently carried out by members of the Bratunac and Zvornik Brigades.
The crude manner of the cover-up operation had a direct impact on the recovery and identification of remains. The removal and reburial of the bodies caused them to become dismembered, with parts of different individuals interspersed, making it difficult for forensic investigators to positively identify the remains.Durnford, Laura "Bridges of Bone and Blood" In one case, one person's remains were found in two locations apart.The Scotsman "Finding the Bodies To Fill Bosnia's Graves" commentary by Adam Boys (ICMP) comment # 16.Adam Boys Commentary In addition to the ligatures and blindfolds found at the mass graves, the effort to hide the bodies has been seen as evidence of the organised nature of the massacres and the non-combatant status of the victims; if the victims had died in normal combat operations, there would be no need to hide their remains.Wood, Peter "Pollen Helps War Crimes Forensics"
Official Republika Srpska reports
First Republika Srpska report (2002)
In September 2002, the Republika Srpska government commissioned via its Documentation Center for War Crimes Research, in coordination with the Republika Srpska Bureau for Relations with the ICTY, the so-called the "Report about Case Srebrenica".Gordana Katana (a correspondent with Voice of America in Banja Luka). REGIONAL REPORT: Bosnian Serbs Play Down Srebrenica, website of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. Retrieved 25 October 2009 Many leading Bosnian Serb politicians endorsed the document, which was written by Darko Trifunović. The report said 1,800 Bosnian Muslim soldiers died during fighting and 100 more died as a result of exhaustion. According to the report; "The number of Muslim soldiers killed by Bosnian Serbs out of personal revenge or lack of knowledge of international law is probably about 100 ... It is important to uncover the names of the perpetrators in order to accurately and unequivocally establish whether or not these were isolated instances". The report also makes allegations regarding examinations of the mass graves, saying they were made for hygiene reasons; it also questions the legitimacy of the missing-person lists, and undermines a key witness's mental health and military history.Report about Case Srebrenica – Banja Luka, 2002 The International Crisis Group and the United Nations condemned the manipulation of their statements in this report,Imaginary Massacres?, Time, 11 September 2002 and Humanitarian Law Center thoroughly deconstructed all of the reports published by Republika Srpska commissions. Humanitarian Law Center described the first report's methods and manipulations in their report of February 2019. The ICTY described Republika Srpska's first report as "one of the worst examples of revisionism in relation to the mass executions of Bosnian Muslims committed in Srebrenica in July 1995". Outrage and condemnation by a wide variety of Balkan and international figures later forced Republika Srpska to disown the report.
Second Republika Srpska report and apology (2004)