Witnesses Testify to Srebrenica Survivors' Lasting Pain
Bosnian court hears relatives are unable to move on until victims’ remains are found.
Witnesses Testify to Srebrenica Survivors' Lasting Pain
Bosnian court hears relatives are unable to move on until victims’ remains are found.
The trial of a Bosnian Serb indicted for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide heard that victims’ families are suffering because they still don’t know what happened to their loved ones.
“We have the right to know the truth about what happened to our husbands, sons and fathers. We have the right to know who killed them and why. We have the right to know where their bones are,” Munira Subasic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Association, told the trial of Milorad Trbic this week.
Trbic – who is on trial at the Bosnian War Crimes Chamber after his case was transferred there from the Hague tribunal – is charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, extermination, murder, persecutions and forcible transfer.
In July 1995, some 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed after the United Nations-protected enclave of Srebrenica fell to Bosnian Serb forces.
At that time, the accused was the assistant commander of security in the Zvornik Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army, VRS. His brigade is alleged to have been directly involved in the mass execution, as well as the forcible transfer of the Bosniak population from Srebrenica.
Subasic lost her son, husband and 22 other family members in the massacre. Although she found the remains of her husband and buried them in the Memorial Centre in nearby Potocari, those of her son are still missing.
Since the end of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, remains of some of Srebrenica victims have been identified and buried in Potocari. Yet thousands are still missing or awaiting DNA identification.
Subasic told the court this week that she still visits mass graves around Srebrenica where exhumations of victims' remains have not yet been completed, hoping to find her son's bones.
At one point during her testimony, she turned to the defendant, visibly upset.
“Can you sleep normally? Do you have children of your own?” she asked Trbic, before the judges intervened, telling her she was not allowed to address the defendant. The accused, who did not reply, appeared unmoved.
Prosecutors have tried to show that the crimes of which Trbic stands accused have had a lasting impact on survivors of the massacre.
This week, Subasic said that men in the traditional Bosniak families of Srebrenica were not just breadwinners, but also a source of strength for the whole family.
“Men were the heads of our families – they worked while women stayed at home and took care of the children and the household,” she told the court.
“When they were killed, we lost the backbones of our families and had to assume the role of both mother and father for our children…We don’t feel safe any more. We don’t have a life companion with whom we can share the important things…such as weddings or the graduations of our children,” said Subasic, before breaking down.
The witness said that after the loss of her husband and son, she suffered a nervous breakdown.
“I am still on medication and am not able to work or sleep normally,” she said.
She pointed out that very few Bosniak survivors have returned to Srebrenica since the war, mainly because only a few perpetrators have been held to account.
“All those who are responsible must be prosecuted. Only then might we be able to live together with our Serb neighbours in Srebrenica again,” she concluded.
The court also heard from a woman who works for an organisation providing support for victims’ families. The witness, whose identity was concealed for her own safety, was known only as P21.
Witness P21 said that families of victims remained in limbo as long as their relatives’ remains were not found.
“Women and children are still waiting for answers. They are not able to start the healing process because they are still looking for the remains of their family members. They can’t have a sense of closure until they can provide [them with] a decent funeral,” she told the court.
“A woman once told me she was afraid to die before she found her husband and son. She believed God would punish her if she did not bury them properly.”
Trbic's trial will resume on January 19.
Velma Saric is an IWPR-trained journalist in Sarajevo.
“We have the right to know the truth about what happened to our husbands, sons and fathers. We have the right to know who killed them and why. We have the right to know where their bones are,” Munira Subasic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Association, told the trial of Milorad Trbic this week.
Trbic – who is on trial at the Bosnian War Crimes Chamber after his case was transferred there from the Hague tribunal – is charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, extermination, murder, persecutions and forcible transfer.
In July 1995, some 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed after the United Nations-protected enclave of Srebrenica fell to Bosnian Serb forces.
At that time, the accused was the assistant commander of security in the Zvornik Brigade of the Bosnian Serb Army, VRS. His brigade is alleged to have been directly involved in the mass execution, as well as the forcible transfer of the Bosniak population from Srebrenica.
Subasic lost her son, husband and 22 other family members in the massacre. Although she found the remains of her husband and buried them in the Memorial Centre in nearby Potocari, those of her son are still missing.
Since the end of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, remains of some of Srebrenica victims have been identified and buried in Potocari. Yet thousands are still missing or awaiting DNA identification.
Subasic told the court this week that she still visits mass graves around Srebrenica where exhumations of victims' remains have not yet been completed, hoping to find her son's bones.
At one point during her testimony, she turned to the defendant, visibly upset.
“Can you sleep normally? Do you have children of your own?” she asked Trbic, before the judges intervened, telling her she was not allowed to address the defendant. The accused, who did not reply, appeared unmoved.
Prosecutors have tried to show that the crimes of which Trbic stands accused have had a lasting impact on survivors of the massacre.
This week, Subasic said that men in the traditional Bosniak families of Srebrenica were not just breadwinners, but also a source of strength for the whole family.
“Men were the heads of our families – they worked while women stayed at home and took care of the children and the household,” she told the court.
“When they were killed, we lost the backbones of our families and had to assume the role of both mother and father for our children…We don’t feel safe any more. We don’t have a life companion with whom we can share the important things…such as weddings or the graduations of our children,” said Subasic, before breaking down.
The witness said that after the loss of her husband and son, she suffered a nervous breakdown.
“I am still on medication and am not able to work or sleep normally,” she said.
She pointed out that very few Bosniak survivors have returned to Srebrenica since the war, mainly because only a few perpetrators have been held to account.
“All those who are responsible must be prosecuted. Only then might we be able to live together with our Serb neighbours in Srebrenica again,” she concluded.
The court also heard from a woman who works for an organisation providing support for victims’ families. The witness, whose identity was concealed for her own safety, was known only as P21.
Witness P21 said that families of victims remained in limbo as long as their relatives’ remains were not found.
“Women and children are still waiting for answers. They are not able to start the healing process because they are still looking for the remains of their family members. They can’t have a sense of closure until they can provide [them with] a decent funeral,” she told the court.
“A woman once told me she was afraid to die before she found her husband and son. She believed God would punish her if she did not bury them properly.”
Trbic's trial will resume on January 19.
Velma Saric is an IWPR-trained journalist in Sarajevo.
