Bosnia Marks 30‑Year Srebrenica Tragedy Anniversary

Srebrenica: Thirty Years of Silence and the Quest for Memory

On July 11, 1995, the UN‑protected enclave of Srebrenica fell to Bosnian Serb forces after a siege that lasted more than three months. In the days that followed, approximately eight thousand Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed and interred in a series of mass graves. Women and children were also slaughtered, leaving a staggering toll of 100 women killed and 80 still missing. Today, the city is expected to gather thousands of visitors to commemorate the genocide that is widely regarded as Europe’s gravest atrocity since World War II.

Commemoration in the Shadow of Loss

• The remains of seven victims will be laid to rest Friday at the Srebrenica‑Potocari Memorial Centre, including a 19‑year‑old man and a 67‑year‑old woman.
• Experts note that most of these remains are fragmented; some victims were found with only one to two bones.
• Families have waited for years to bury their loved ones, hoping for additional remains. One mother, Mevlida Omerović, has decided to bury her husband Hasib, who was killed at the age of 33 in Petkovci, a site that is one of five mass execution locations of the massacre.

Echoes of Pain

Munira Subasic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica association, stated, “For 30 years we have carried the pain in our souls.” She mourns the loss of her husband Hilmo and son Nermin, who were killed in the massacre, and recalls how the world watched in silence as children were murdered in the UN‑protected zone.

Denial and the Lasting Impact of Conflict

Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, leaders of the Bosnian Serb wartime political and military elite, were sentenced to life imprisonment by an international tribunal, particularly for the Srebrenica genocide. Despite this, Serbia and Bosnian Serb leaders continue to deny that the massacre was a genocide. Milorad Dodik, a Bosnian Serb leader, declared, “The Serbs did not commit genocide in Srebrenica… it did not happen.”

In response to these claims, the United Nations established an international day of remembrance on July 11 to mark the Srebrenica genocide, although protests were raised by Belgrade and Bosnian Serbs. Ramiza Gurdic, whose husband Junuz and sons Mehrudin and Mustafa were killed in the massacre, described the day as “a day of great sadness and pain.” She added that “every day is July 11,” detailing her continuous grief and the absence of those she lost.

Final Reflections

The Srebrenica massacre remains one of the most painful chapters of Bosnia’s 1992‑1995 war, a genocide that continues to shape the collective memory of the victims and the survivors. Today, as thousands gather to lay the last seven remains to rest, the city continues to confront the legacy of a tragedy that still echoes in the lives of those left to mourn.