"We share the responsibility, and the culprit is the Bosnian Serb army"

The Netherlands yesterday offered its "deepest apology" for the role played by Dutch peacekeepers in the genocide in Srebrenica, where 27 years ago Bosnian Serb forces killed around 8000 Bosnian Muslims.

It is the first time that the Dutch government has apologized to the relatives of the victims in Srebrenica.

Outnumbered in the military sense, members of the Dutch peacekeeping forces did not prevent the Bosnian Serb forces from invading the city that the United Nations declared a "safe zone", reminds Reuters.

During the seven days of bloodshed in July 1995, men and boys were separated from women and taken to death camps where they were killed. Their bodies were thrown into mass graves.

"Only one side is to blame for the horrific genocide: the Bosnian Serb army. However, let me be clear. The international community failed to provide adequate protection to the people of Srebrenica, and as part of that community, the Dutch government shares responsibility for the situation in which that failure occurred. For this, we offer our deepest apologies," said Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Olongren.

Dutch courts have already found that the Netherlands is partially responsible for the fall of Srebrenica and compensation has been paid to the survivors.

Because of that event, the Dutch government resigned in 2002, and then Prime Minister Wim Kok said that the government thus accepted responsibility for the massacre, but not guilt. This was not enough for the relatives of the victims of Srebrenica and for years they insisted on an apology.

Last month, the Netherlands apologized to Dutch members of the UN force who witnessed the massacre for the conditions in which they had to do their work, which angered relatives of the victims.

"The events of 1995 led to deep human suffering that is palpable here to this day. We cannot alleviate that suffering. What we can do is look history straight in the eye," Olongrenova said during her visit to Bosnia on the occasion of the commemoration of the genocide.

The crime in Srebrenica is the only one in the territory of the former Yugoslavia characterized as genocide before international and domestic courts.

Yesterday, on the anniversary of the massacre, the remains of another 50 victims were buried in the presence of thousands of people. The bodies of 47 men and three teenage boys were buried in the Memorial Center in Potočari, where 6 victims have been buried to date, while according to the wishes of the families of those killed, 652 people were buried in other locations. More than 237 missing persons are still being searched for.

Idriz Mustafić attended a collective funeral yesterday to bury the remains of his son Salim. He was 16 years old when he was killed while trying to escape from the city.

"My older son, Enis, was also killed. We buried him in 2005. Now I am burying Salim," Mustafić told AP.

"Forensic experts did not find his skull, but my wife fell ill with cancer and had to undergo surgery, we simply could not wait any longer to bury the bones we found, so that we would at least know where their graves are," said Mustafić, whose son Salim the youngest victim buried yesterday. The oldest is Husejin Krdžić, who was 59 years old at the time of his death, Radio Free Europe reported.

Mana Ademović, who lost her husband and many other relatives in the massacre, attended yesterday's memorial service, and despite the fact that she buried her husband's partial remains several years ago, she said that she "must be in Srebrenica every July 11".

"It's easier when you have a grave you can visit, regardless of how many bones are buried in it," she said.

For the past two years, due to the covid-19 pandemic, only a relatively small number of survivors have been allowed to attend the annual memorial service and funeral of the victims. Since the restrictions were lifted, tens of thousands attended yesterday's commemoration, including numerous state officials and diplomats.

Despite the indisputable evidence of what happened, many Serb leaders in Bosnia and neighboring Serbia continue to downplay or even deny the massacre in Sebrenica and celebrate Bosnian Serb wartime leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic as heroes.

The High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kristijan Šmit, said that upon his arrival in Srebrenica, he felt a strong burden. "It is also the burden of the international community's failure to protect these people," he added. He emphasized that the genocide in Srebrenica was documented and that all those who deny it and reduce the number of victims live "cocooned in consciously chosen ignorance".

"The lessons we learned in Srebrenica must never be forgotten, which is that the politics of hatred and fear bring nothing but misfortune. We must show commitment so that this does not happen again to anyone," emphasized Šmit. He also said that it is disputed that in the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, children learn different histories and announced his involvement in the introduction of unique history textbooks, stressing that he comes from a country with a disputed past, which is why he knows how important it is that everyone should learn to respect the victims.

The Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Šefik Džaferović, said that the genocide in Srebrenica was a "consciously and carefully planned crime with political motives" and that all those who participated in it must be brought to justice. "We will guard the truth and fight against genocide deniers. Former High Representative Valentin Incko did a great thing when he imposed the law on the prohibition of denial of genocide and other crimes determined by legally binding decisions," he said, saying that denial of genocide has been significantly reduced, but not excluded.

Menahem Rosensaft, Consul General of the World Jewish Congress, also addressed the crowd yesterday. He said that the commemoration of the massacre in Srebrenica "is of historical importance for everyone who cares about international human rights, for everyone who has a conscience".

Rosensaft said that it is "crucial" for the international community to officially mark the anniversary of the genocide every July 11, "not only out of respect for the victims, but also as a public countermeasure to the persistent efforts to deny the genocide."

From denial of genocide to citing "more terrible and greater crimes" against Serbs

The denial of the genocide in Srebrenica has been present in Serbia in various forms for 27 years, from the denial that the crime took place, to the denial of the number of those killed and their civilian status, to the denial of the fact that verdicts for genocide exist at all. July 11 as a pledge of peace" in Belgrade.

Isidora Stakić from the Fund for Humanitarian Law, as stated by N1, assessed during the forum that it was a form of denial and citing "more terrible and greater crimes committed against Serbs".

"People who deny the genocide invented that recognizing the genocide would mean that the Serbs are a genocidal nation, although only individuals and institutions are accused of that crime," she said.

According to her, former head of state Boris Tadić and current Aleksandar Vučić "intimidated the public with claims that recognizing the genocide would have terrible consequences for the Serbian people, but they did not specify what they would be."