By: Nina Peci –
One of history’s most important incarcerations happened Wednesday, November 22nd – and America isn’t talking about it.
In July of 1995, Ratko Mladic systematically murdered 8,372 Bosnian Muslims – or Bosniaks – and expelled 20,000 civilians from the Bosnian city of Srebrenik in an attempt to “ethnically cleanse” the area. During the conflict of former Yugoslavia, 100,000 people were killed and 2.2 million displaced. This was the largest genocide to happen in European history since World War II.
Mladic’s role in this conflict got him charged with two counts of genocide and nine crimes against humanity and war crimes, he was found guilty for one count of genocide and nine crimes against humanity such as mass rapes of Bosniak women and girls, beating Bosnian prisoners, keeping Bosnian prisoners starving, thirsty and sick, terrorizing the citizens of Sarajevo by sniping and shelling them, deporting masses of Bosniaks by force, and destroying homes and mosques.
Srebrenica, the mass murder of Bosniaks in Srebrenik, is treated very similarly in Europe, mainly Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, as 9-11 is in America. It’s a tragedy that’s never to be forgotten and every year people mourn the thousands of boys and men who lost their lives simply for following a religion. During this “ethnic cleansing” many other war crimes, and crimes against humanity were committed, too much damage was done for people to ever feel as if justice has been served, no matter the sentence that Mladic receives.
Mladic claimed that the court was “satanic,” and that his charges were “obnoxious.” A man who was once so proud of his actions against humanity is now claiming that not only are they not true, but that he wasn’t even in Srebrenik when it happened. More than 500 witnesses and nearly 10,000 exhibits disagree with his claims.
Although he was sentenced to life in prison, Bosniaks have mixed emotions. Many believe he should be charged with more than one count of genocide because of his actions outside of Srebrenik, and are frustrated with the lack of acknowledgment of how many victims resulted due to his crimes. Others don’t care too much about his charges, they’re just happy that he received a life sentence. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called Mladic’s conviction a “momentous victory for justice.”
But, as an American, why should this matter to you? We’re living in a very tense time, labels like “terrorist” are easily thrown onto almost anyone who isn’t white, Muslims and Arabs are subjected to this most often. In this writer’s opinion, it’s important to recognize that being Muslim is not just once race or ethnicity, it’s a religion that anyone can follow, and that they have suffered from discrimination long enough. Srebrenica shows just how true that is, and as humans we must make it our duty to not allow history to be forgotten. Ratko Mladic is just one name, Srebrenica is one incident, we can’t allow it to repeat itself because that would leave millions of victims, stories, and lives forgotten, and lost to history.
Photo by: Mlck Krever, CNN
Mourners pray at the graves of those killed in Srebrenica