[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 114 (Friday, July 11, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6597-S6598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              13TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SREBRENICA MASSACRE

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to mark the 
13th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.
  Between July 12 and July 16, 1995, an estimated 8,000 Bosniak Muslim 
men and boys were slaughtered in the region of Srebrenica in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina. This was the largest mass murder in Europe since the 
Second World War. The killings were committed by the Army of the 
Republika Srpska, under the direct command of Ratko Mladic, and with 
the approval of Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadzic.
  The atrocities in Srebrenica were documented in the November 1995 
indictment of Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic by the International 
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY:

                      ``Safe Area'' of Srebrenica

       1. After war erupted in the Republic of Bosnia and 
     Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb military forces occupied Bosnian 
     Muslim villages in the eastern part of the country, resulting 
     in an exodus of Bosnian Muslims to enclaves in Gorazde, Zepa, 
     Tuzla, and Srebrenica. All of the events referred to in this 
     indictment took place in the Republic of Bosnia and 
     Herzegovina.
       2. On 16 April 1993, the Security Council of the United 
     Nations, acting pursuant to Chapter VII of its Charter, 
     adopted resolution 819, in which it demanded that all parties 
     to the conflict in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina 
     treat Srebrenica and its surroundings as a safe area which 
     should be free from any armed attack or any other hostile 
     act. Resolution 819 was reaffirmed by Resolution 824 on 6 May 
     1993 and by Resolution 836 on 4 June 1993.
       3. Before the attack by Bosnian Serb forces, as described 
     in this indictment, the estimated Bosnian Muslim population 
     in the safe area of Srebrenica was approximately 60,000.

                 Attack on the Safe Area of Srebrenica

       4. On or about 6 July 1995, the Bosnian Serb army shelled 
     Srebrenica and attacked United Nations observation posts that 
     were manned by Dutch soldiers and located in the safe area. 
     The attack on the Srebrenica safe area by the Bosnian Serb 
     army continued through 11 July 1995, when the first units of 
     the attacking Bosnian Serb forces entered Srebrenica.
       5. The Bosnian Muslim men, women and children who remained 
     in Srebrenica after the beginning of the Bosnian Serb attack 
     took two courses of action. Several thousand women, children 
     and some mostly elderly men fled to the UN compound in 
     Potocari, located within the safe area of Srebrenica, where 
     they sought the protection of the Dutch battalion responsible 
     for the compound. They remained at the compound from 11 July 
     1995 until 13 July 1995, when they were all evacuated by 
     buses and trucks under the control of and operated by Bosnian 
     Serb military personnel.
       6. A second group of approximately 15,000 Bosnian Muslim 
     men, with some women and children, gathered at Susnjari 
     during the evening hours of 11 July 1995 and fled, in a huge 
     column, through the woods towards Tuzla. Approximately one-
     third of this group consisted of armed Bosnian military 
     personnel and armed civilians. The rest were unarmed 
     civilians.


                           Events in Potocari

       7. On 11 July 1995 and 12 July 1995, Ratko Mladic and 
     members of his staff met in Bratunac with Dutch military 
     officers and representatives of the Muslim refugees from 
     Potocari. At these meetings, Ratko Mladic informed them, 
     among other things, that Bosnian Muslim soldiers who 
     surrendered their weapons would be treated as prisoners of 
     war according to the Geneva Conventions and that refugees 
     evacuated from Potocari would not be hurt.
       8. On or about 12 July 1995, Bosnian Serb military forces 
     burned and looted Bosnian Muslim houses in and around 
     Potocari.
       9. On or about 12 July 1995, in the morning hours, Bosnian 
     Serb military forces arrived at the UN military compound in 
     Potocari and its environs.
       10. On or about 12 July 1995, Ratko Mladic arrived in 
     Potocari, accompanied by his military aides and a television 
     crew. He falsely and repeatedly told Bosnian Muslims in and 
     around Potocari that they would not be harmed and that they 
     would be safely transported out of Srebrenica.
       11. On or about 12 July 1995, at the direction and in the 
     presence of Ratko Mladic, approximately 50-60 buses and 
     trucks arrived near the UN military compound in Potocari. 
     Shortly after the arrival of these vehicles, the evacuation 
     process of Bosnian Muslim refugees started. As Muslim women, 
     children and men started to board the buses and trucks, 
     Bosnian Serb military personnel separated the men from the 
     women and children. This selection and separation of Muslim 
     men took place in the presence of and at the direction of 
     Ratko Mladic.
       12. The Bosnian Muslim men who had been separated from 
     other refugees were taken to diverse locations in and around 
     Potocari. On or about 12 July 1995, Ratko Mladic and Bosnian 
     Serb military personnel under his command, informed some of 
     these Muslim men that they would be evacuated and exchanged 
     for Bosnian Serbs being held in Tuzla.
       13. Most of the Muslim men who had been separated from the 
     other refugees in Potocari were transported to Bratunac and 
     then to the area of Karakaj, where they were

[[Page S6598]]

     massacred by Bosnian Serb military personnel.
       14. Between 12 July 1995 and 13 July 1995, Bosnian Serb 
     military personnel summarily executed Bosnian Muslim men and 
     women at diverse locations around the UN compound where they 
     had taken refuge. The bodies of those summarily executed were 
     left in fields and buildings in the immediate vicinity of the 
     compound. These arbitrary killings instilled such terror and 
     panic amongst the Muslims remaining there that some of them 
     committed suicide and all the others agreed to leave the 
     enclave.
       15. The evacuation of all able-bodied Muslim refugees 
     concluded on 13 July 1995. As a result of the Bosnian Serb 
     attack on the safe area and other actions, the Muslim 
     population of the enclave of Srebrenica was virtually 
     eliminated by Bosnian Serb military personnel.


                        Surrender and Executions

       16. Between the evening of 11 July 1995 and the morning of 
     12 July 1995, the huge column of Muslims which had gathered 
     in Susnjari fled Srebrenica through the woods towards Tuzla.
       17. Bosnian Serb military personnel, supported by armored 
     personnel carriers, tanks, anti-aircraft guns and artillery, 
     positioned themselves along the Bratunac-Milici road in an 
     effort to interdict the column of Bosnian Muslims fleeing 
     towards Tuzla.
       18. As soon as the column reached Bosnian Serb held 
     territory in the vicinity of Buljim, Bosnian Serb military 
     forces attacked it. As a result of this and other attacks by 
     Bosnian Serb military forces, many Muslims were killed and 
     wounded and the column divided into several smaller parts 
     which continued towards Tuzla. Approximately one-third of the 
     column, mostly composed of military personnel, crossed the 
     Bratunac-Milici road near Nova Kasaba and reached safety in 
     Tuzla. The remaining Muslims were trapped behind the Bosnian 
     Serb lines.
       19. Thousands of Muslims were captured by or surrendered to 
     Bosnian Serb military forces under the command and control of 
     Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic. Many of the Muslims who 
     surrendered did so because they were assured that they would 
     be safe if they surrendered. In many instances, assurances 
     of safety were provided to the Muslims by Bosnian Serb 
     military personnel who were with other Bosnian Serb 
     soldiers wearing stolen UN uniforms, and by Muslims who 
     had been captured and ordered to summon their fellow 
     Muslims from the woods.
       20. Many of the Bosnian Muslims who were captured by or 
     surrendered to Bosnian Serb military personnel were summarily 
     executed by Bosnian Serb military personnel at the locations 
     of their surrender or capture, or at other locations shortly 
     thereafter. Incidents of such summary executions include, but 
     are not limited to:
       20.1 On or about 13 July 1995, near Nezuk in the Republic 
     of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a group of 10 Bosnian Muslim men 
     were captured. Bosnian Serb soldiers summarily executed some 
     of these men, including Mirsad Alispahic and Hajrudin 
     Mesanovic.
       20.2 On or about 13 July 1995, on the banks of the Jadar 
     River between Konjevic Polje and Drinjaca, Bosnian Serb 
     soldiers summarily executed 15 Bosnian Muslim men who had 
     surrendered or been captured. Amongst those killed were Hamed 
     Omerovic, Azem Mujic and Ismet Ahmetovic.
       20.3 On or about 13 July 1995, in the vicinity of Konjevic 
     Polje, Bosnian Serb soldiers summarily executed hundreds of 
     Muslims, including women and children.
       20.4 On or about 17 July 1995 or 18 July 1995, in the 
     vicinity of Konjevic Polje, Bosnian Serb soldiers captured 
     about 150-200 Bosnian Muslims and summarily executed about 
     one-half of them.
       20.5 On or about 18 July 1995 or 19 July 1995, in the 
     vicinity of Nezuk, about 20 groups, each containing between 
     5-10 Bosnian Muslim men, surrendered to Bosnian Serb military 
     forces. After the men surrendered, Bosnian Serb soldiers 
     ordered them to line up and summarily executed them.
       20.6 On or about 20 July 1995 or 21 July 1995, near the 
     village of Meces, Bosnian Serb military personnel, using 
     megaphones, urged Bosnian Muslim men who had fled Srebrenica 
     to surrender and assured them that they would be safe. 
     Approximately 350 Bosnian Muslim men responded to these 
     entreaties and surrendered. Bosnian Serb soldiers then took 
     approximately 150 of them, instructed them to dig their own 
     graves and then summarily executed them.
       20.7 On or about 21 July 1995 or 22 July 1995, near the 
     village of Meces, an excavator dug a large pit and Bosnian 
     Serb soldiers ordered approximately 260 Bosnian Muslim men 
     who had been captured to stand around the hole. The Muslim 
     men were then surrounded by armed Bosnian Serb soldiers and 
     ordered not to move or they would be shot. Some of the men 
     moved and were shot. The remaining men were pushed into the 
     hole and buried alive.
       21. Many of the Muslims who surrendered to Bosnian Serb 
     military personnel were not killed at the locations of their 
     surrender, but instead were transported to central assembly 
     points where Bosnian Serb soldiers held them under armed 
     guard. These assembly points included, among others, a hangar 
     in Bratunac; soccer fields in Kasaba, Konjevic Polje, 
     Kravica, and Vlasenica; a meadow behind the bus station in 
     Sandici and other fields and meadows along the Bratunac-
     Milici road.
       22. Between 12 July 1995 and 14 July 1995, at various of 
     these assembly points, including the hangar in Bratunac and 
     the soccer stadium in Kasaba, Ratko Mladic addressed the 
     Bosnian Muslim detainees. He falsely and repeatedly assured 
     them that they would be safe and that they would be exchanged 
     for Bosnian Serb prisoners held by Bosnian government forces.
       23. Between 12 July 1995 and 14 July 1995, Bosnian Serb 
     military personnel arbitrarily selected Bosnian Muslim 
     detainees and summarily executed them.


                      Mass Executions Near Karakaj

       24. On or about 14 July 1995, Bosnian Serb military 
     personnel transported thousands of Muslim detainees from 
     Bratunac, Kravica and other locations to an assembly point in 
     a school complex near Karakaj. At this assembly point, 
     Bosnian Serb military personnel ordered the Muslim detainees 
     to take off their jackets, coats and other garments and place 
     them in front of the sports hall. They were then crowded into 
     the school building and adjacent sports hall and held under 
     armed guard.
       25. On or about 14 July 1995, at this school complex near 
     Karakaj, Ratko Mladic conferred with his military 
     subordinates and addressed some of the Muslims detained 
     there.
       26. At various times during 14 July 1995, Bosnian Serb 
     military personnel killed Bosnian Muslim detainees at this 
     school complex.
       27. Throughout 14 July 1995, Bosnian Serb military 
     personnel removed all the Muslim detainees, in small groups, 
     from the school building and sports hall and loaded them onto 
     trucks guarded and driven by Bosnian Serb soldiers. Before 
     boarding the trucks, many of the detainees had their hands 
     tied behind their backs or were blindfolded. They were then 
     driven to at least two locations in the vicinity of Karakaj.
       28. Once the trucks arrived at these locations, Bosnian 
     Serb military personnel ordered the bound or blindfolded 
     Muslim detainees off the trucks and summarily executed them. 
     The summary executions took place from approximately noon to 
     midnight on 14 July 1995.
       29. Bosnian Serb military personnel buried the executed 
     Bosnian Muslim men in mass graves near the execution sites.
       30. On or about 14 July 1995, Ratko Mladic was present at 
     one of the mass execution sites when Bosnian Serb military 
     personnel summarily executed Bosnian Muslim men.
       31. The summary executions of Bosnian Muslim males, which 
     occurred on 14 July 1995 in the vicinity of Karakaj, resulted 
     in the loss of thousands of lives.

  Since the end of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ICTY has 
made considerable progress. Charges have been filed against 161 
individuals. Of those, the trials of 114 have concluded, resulting in 
55 convictions; 47 cases are ongoing. Among the Tribunal's greatest 
successes was the August 2001 conviction of Radislav Krstic on the 
count of genocide. I was recently pleased to learn of the June 11, 
2008, arrest of longtime fugitive Stojan Zupljanin by Serbian 
authorities, as this was the first capture of a major war crimes 
suspect in about a year. However, three individuals, including Radovan 
Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, remain at large.
  It is vital that the remaining three be brought to face the court. It 
is imperative that the rule of law be brought into the international 
arena, both for the 8,000 who were killed in Srebrenica in July 1995, 
and for the many others who continue to suffer around the world today 
under oppressive regimes. I agree with former United Nations Secretary 
General Kofi Annan, who said during his 1997 visit to the ICTY, 
``impunity cannot be tolerated, and will not be. In an interdependent 
world, the rule of law must prevail.''

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