One of the worst atrocities of the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, took place between 6 and 16 July 1995 in Srebrenica. 20 Years after these events we will look at the current day situation in Srebrenica and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly focussing on the situation of the generations growing up in post-war Bosnia. Tens of thousands of Muslim Bosnians had taken refuge from ‘ethnic cleansing’ elsewhere in the region and the area was formally protected by a – small and insufficiently armed – battalion of Dutch UN-soldiers. The Bosnian Serb Army overran the safe area on 11 July 1995, subsequently separating men and boys over twelve from women, children and elderly. The latter were removed from the area on lorries and buses and taken to territory held by the Bosnian government. The boys and men were executed. Nearly 8,000 Muslim men were deliberately killed in mass shootings. The UN and Dutchbat proved unable to prevent the genocide. About the event
During a course which was organised by the open journalism platform Verspers, 10 beginning documentary makers visited Srebrenica. Each short film, resulting from the course, revolves around the theme: Where does Srebrenica stand 20 years after the genocide, and in particular the generation that grew up after 1995? The best films, selected by a professional jury, premieres this afternoon. Programme – Growing up in the Srebrenica Region by Nevena Medic:
Nevena Medic is a young Bosnian-Serb journalist from the Srebrenica region. She writes for Balkan Diskurs, a non-profit multimedia platform that was setup as a response to the lack of objective and independent local media in the Bosnian entity Republica Srpska. Medic will speak about the difficulties she meets in her work and what it was like growing up in the Srebrenica region.
– Contextualizing current day Bosnia and Herzegovina by Marieke Zoodsma:
Marieke Zoodsma, finalist for the UvA thesis award 2015 for her thesis Then we came to understand that I was hurt and you were hurt too, will give a background on current day Bosnia and Herzegovina and she discusses the process of reconciliation. She graduated from the MA course in Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
– Genocide denial by the Serbs by Koen Kluessien:
Koen Kluessien recently graduated from the MA course in Holocaust and Genocide Studies and he will speak about the denial by Serbia regarding the genocide of 1995. Film screening
Moderator Ilvy Njiokiktjien. She was photographer of the nation in 2013 and has won the World Press Photo in the Contemporary Issues Category in 2012 and the Dutch Silver Camera award in 2014. About Transitional Justice
Transitional Justice has many different faces. History has seen (inter)national tribunals, truth and reconciliation committees and local coping mechanisms. How does a state that survived mass violence and mass killings build a new future, and what mechanisms does it use for coming to terms with its past? This annual series – organized by the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and various partners – discusses roads to justice around the globe. For more information check the website www.niod.knaw.nl