Smail Čekić’s „The Aggression on Bosnia and Genocide Against Bosniacs, 1991 – 1993“, published originally in Sarajevo in 1994, and in English translation a year later, is presented here not for its scholarly value but primarily for its political interest. It is an excellent illustration of how – even while the Bosnian war was still in progress – and before a single prisoner of war was executed in Srebrenica in July of 1995 the Moslem leadership in Sarajevo was single-mindedly setting the stage for eventually playing its „genocide card.“ Smail Čekić is an old propaganda warhorse of the Sarajevo authorities, occupying a number of prominent academic and war crimes „research” posts. The present treatise comprises the chapter “A Historical review of the genocide against Bosniacs” from the book referenced above. Čekić claims that Bosnian Moslems have been the victims of about a dozen genocides over the last two centuries.

[Since becoming the focal point of dramatic events in the final stages of the Bosnian war, Srebrenica has served as a potent emotional symbol and has scarcely been associated with reason nor has it been seen as a manifestation of reason’s influence in human affairs. Not only was Srebrenica placed long ago beyond the limits of free inquiry, but all attempts to treat the official narrative with less than absolute reverence are regularly denounced with the strongest disapproval and wrath if necessary. Incapable of standing on its own without the artificial sustenance of social pressure to keep opinions in line and ultimately legal punishment to suppress recalcitrant skeptics, Srebrenica can only be kept afloat by dint of endless repetition of its signature refrains (8,000 men and boys, genocide) combined with the proscription of all dissonant views. Srdja Trifković, a distinguished historian and analyst of Balkan affairs, shows something very important in the Chronicles Magazine article reproduced below.  The endless repetition of the Srebrenica refrain has evidently taken its toll even on the mind of political commentator, Patrick Buchanan, who is known for independent thinking and boldness to publicly take “out-of-the-box” positions on controversial issues. But it seems from Buchanan’s casual quote cited by Dr. Trifković that even Buchanan could not resist the powerful, mind-bending allure of the Srebrenica cult.  Dr. Trifković sets him straight and we share his hope that this analysis will reach Mr. Buchanan’s desk.]

William Blake, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” (1790-93)
Title suggested by Professor Edward Herman

Our efforts to encourage civilised dialogue about Srebrenica unfortunately have not borne fruit so far. A few days ago we received the latest confirmation that our partners on the other side lack the will to work with us to solve the Srebrenica issue in a decent and scholarly manner. Srebrenica Genocide Blog, a portal in mediocre English which propagates “Srebrenica genocide” with all the standard accompanying elements [8,000 victims, etc.] reacted with extraordinary hysteria to a research article entitled “No evidence supporting genocide finding in ICTY Srebrenica verdicts” by our American associate, Andy Wilcoxson. Based on a careful analysis of judgments in the Krstić and Popović cases, Mr. Wilcoxson develops his thesis that the chambers’ conclusions in these trials with respect to genocide do not satisfy basic international law criteria or even the Hague Tribunal’s own definition of genocide. His article is accessible on the internet.[1]

Written by: Andy Wilcoxson

Our research associate Andy Wilcoxson has decided to try an original new approach in his analysis of the validity of the genocide finding in ICTY Srebrenica verdicts. The piece that follows is the result of his efforts. “I wrote it, “he said, “because I think it is a way of looking at the topic from outside the box. You can prove that there was no genocide without having to prove anything about the scale of the executions or the context of the events, and by disproving the genocide thesis you take away the emotionally charged ‘hate speech’ and ‘genocide denial’ arguments. Once ‘genocide’ gets taken out of the equation one can begin to have a rational discussion about everything else and the truth can be established.” Indeed, but is there anyone on the other side who is interested in a rational discussion? We think that Mr. Wilcoxson’s approach is completely justified and correct. We therefore commend his analysis to our readers and look forward to their reactions.

The week of 14 March was not particularly lucky for Srebrenica prosecutors at the Sarajevo branch office of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

The technical name of the court in question is State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its ostensible task is to prosecute war crimes committed during the 1992 – 1995 Bosnian war. But it has no standing within the framework of Bosnia’s formal constitutional system as it was set up pursuant to the 1995 Dayton peace agreement. One of the reasons why the court’s legal status is spurious is that it was imposed by High representative Jeremy Ashdown relying on his questionable “Bonn Powers.” For all practical purposes it is but an extension of ICTY. Both with regard to its extra-judicial origin and in its pronouncedly asymmetrical approach to the prosecution of war criminals (the accused are overwhelmingly Serbs with a few token defendants from the other ethnic groups thrown in for the sake of appearances) the Sarajevo tribunal is a faithful clone of its Hague model and ideological patron.

It is always an appropriate occasion to attempt to transcend the routine banalities of the Srebrenica debate which turns mostly on numbers. When we say “debate” we are aware, of course, that this is a highly unpopular notion, and unfortunately precisely for those who should be conducting that debate with us. They deny as a matter of principle that there is anything to debate. So many thousand prisoners were executed and a distinguished international judicial forum of unquestioned authority has found it to constitute genocide. (These are the “routine banalities” that define the parameters of Srebrenica as an issue at least, if not as a debate.) According to our hypothetical debating partners there is nothing to debate because everything is settled and clear.

The controversy of Srebrenica enters a new phase. There is now a definitive new study in English incorporating the most up to date evidence and presenting a thorough critique of the evidence (or what passed for evidence) that was available previously. It is  the monograph prepared by a group of authors and published by Srebrenica Historical Project entitled “Deconstruction of a virtual genocide: An intelligent person’s guide to Srebrenica.”

The guiding concept behind the monograph was to address all the key points in this controversy within the confines of a single readable and well-documented volume. As we have always done since the beginning of our work, we have strived here also to achieve maximum balance and fairness with a minimum of emotion. The banishment of emotion from the discussion of such a highly charged topic as Srebrenica may appear to be a difficult and nearly impossible task. But it is not so daunting after all when it is approached in the right way. The now familiar descent into emotionalism whenever Srebrenica is debated occurs only when the subject is approached by those who have a set agenda. They usually take extreme positions and since their claims are not supported by facts they must resort to emotion, and on occasion even vituperation and ad hominem diatribes, to make up for the shortcomings of their “arguments.”

Last month was the 18th anniversary of the attack on the Serbian village of Kravica committed by Moslem forces from Srebrenica under the command of Naser Orić on Orthodox Christmas day, January 7, 1993. Several dozen villagers were killed in the attack, the remaining Serbian population was forced to flee to safety, and many homes were pillaged, demolished and torched during the several weeks that Kravica was forcibly occupied by neighbours from nearby Srebrenica. Regardless of arcane debates of who started the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on a human level the attack on the village of Kravica and the ensuing slaughter and expulsion of its inhabitants was a crime, just as the firebombing of Dresden and the slaughter of that city’s citizens, without any apparent military purpose and at the very end of World War II, was also a crime.

Several days ago our NGO received a report on the frequency of viewing of our internet site located at www.srebrenica-project.com  The results were more than satisfactory. There is literally not a single significant location in the world where our work is not being followed.
At least two principal conclusions can be drawn from that. First, the institutional Srebrenica narrative, which we are challenging with facts at every turn, with its standard and nauseously hyperbolic refrains about “genocide” and “eight thousand men and boys,” is rapidly losing momentum. As a mass of new evidence comes to light, that narrative is becoming less sustainable. An increasing number of people who can think critically realise that the skillfully packaged Srebrenica propaganda narrative is full of holes, like Swiss cheese. Second, our success is proof that the truth is sturdy enough to gain its proper place in the marketplace of ideas. The deluge of ruthless propaganda can sideline it for a while, but it cannot suppress it permanently. That is a consoling thought indeed in a world where   it appears that lies and disinformation usually carry the day.

Srebrenica Historical Project announces with great pleasure that the debate about Srebrenica that was recently conducted between Mirsad Tokača, Director of the Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Center, and Stephen Karganović and Ljubiša Simić, representing the Project, was posted on You Tube. It is broken into eight segments and can be accessed from the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=debata+o+srebrenici&aq=f

The debate was broadcast by Radio Belgrade 2, on the political discussion show „Atlantis“ with host Biljana Đorović in two approximately one hour segments on 31 October and 7 November, 2010.

We invite our readers who understand the local languages of the Former Yugoslavia to click on the You Tube link. We look forward to their comments.