On the eve of the United Nations General Assembly vote on the resolution addressing the Srebrenica genocide, a panel presented testimonies from Serbian victims and witnesses of the Bosnian war.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, leading the diplomatic delegation in New York City, entered the room and greeted the guests. The event, organized by the Serbian mission to the UN, underscored the necessity of considering the perspective of the Serbian victims of war—a significant population in Bosnia and Herzegovina—regarding the draft UN resolution on Srebrenica that is slated for the vote on Thursday morning.
The one-and-a-half-hour event featured harrowing personal accounts, including two sisters choking back tears as they recounted how their childhoods were shattered by the war’s horrors in the 1990s. The Serbian victims of Bosnian war spoke on behalf of those who lost their families, the victims who, the panel said, were “ignored” by the resolution’s drafters.
Consul General of Chicago Damjan Jovic opened the event by asking all present to join in a moment of silence for the fallen Serbian victims who could not share their stories. Jovic noted that the UN resolution set for a vote on Thursday is “dividing us, instead of uniting us.”
The lineup included the Serbs now American citizens, living far from the suffering they endured during the civil war. Twenty-nine years after the fact, the UN Resolution on Srebrenica genocide according to those Serbs who spoke on the panel threatens to divide not only the people in the region, but also the international community.
Witness Dusanka Stanic: Why don’t we rape her, just for fun
Dusanka Stanic and her sister, survivors of a war camp in Bosnia, recounted their harrowing experiences from the war. Dusanka, then just eight years old, spent her formative years in the tranquility of Duvno village before the eruption of conflict in the former Yugoslavia. She painted an idyllic image of her village as a “magical place” where families of all ethnic backgrounds lived together in peace in the years leading up to the Bosnian war.
Everything changed on a gloom April morning when her school was abruptly canceled, and her mother stopped her from going outside to play with the Bosnian neighbor. The new rules were drawn overnight, marking a new normal, she recalled, plunging them in home confinement.
Then one day, Dusanka recalled, a group of soldiers drove by in a black van showing up at their doors. She choked up with tears as she recounted the traumatic event of soldiers in black uniforms pointing a gun at her. As Dusanka was finding strength to continue speaking, members of press, and some of the UN diplomats were tearing up.
Dusanka recalled how she and the members of her family were forcibly taken away to a war camp where some other Serbs they knew from the village were also held. “You too?” a member of the Serb family from their village asked them when he saw them. The food was scarce forcing the family to share one egg, a small slice of bread, and a piece of chicken among three people.
President of Serbia and the members of his delegation hold a moment of silence for the Serbian victims of war in Bosnia.
Dusanka recalled that they were again taken away and separated from the men, saying their last goodbyes without knowing if they would ever meet again.
Dusanka’s recollections talk about being “hungry” and “scared” on a daily basis, accepting this as the state of play in her childhood, without knowing that other children elsewhere were not going through the horrors of war. Young Dusanka prayed every night for her family to survive.
She remembered one day in the village where she lived, facing two men coming in her direction and one of them saying, “Why don’t we rape her, just for fun.” She managed to run away and said she lived in fear “every day” since.
In October 1995, her abode was attacked again, and her family escaped to open fields without food and shelter. “I was homeless and scared again,” she recounted.
Dusanka was eventually taken to safety by a Greek family. “Only later did I realize that this is not a normal way to grow up,” she shared.
Despite the passage of time, her trauma remains palpable. Dusanka still suffers from night terrors. She has authored a book to share her story, hoping to ensure that the suffering of Serbian victims is not forgotten.
After Dusanka’s gripping testimony, a weighty silence settled over the room. The succeeding testimonies, delivered by individuals who bore witness of Bosnian war firsthand, painted a vivid and haunting portrait of their wartime ordeals. Some recounted tales of those who were raped and killed, while others shared the ongoing struggles of survivors grappling with profound health challenges, rendering them unable to walk. Svetlana Stanic, Dijana Ivanovic and Ranko Ristic gave their perspectives by taking about their wounds of war.
Gregory Tosi: Equal justice for All
Attorney Gregory Tosi, upon the conclusion of the testimonies, addressed the members of the UN permanent missions. He said that the best way to determine the truth is “cross-examination” urging all present to scrutinize the testimonies of Serbian war victims until they are satisfied that their stories are not fabricated but truthful.
Tosi implored UN members to uphold the principle of “equal justice” for all victims, cautioning against the resolution’s partial acknowledgment of a single ethnic group amidst Bosnia’s diverse stakeholders.
The resolution that will address “all victims,” Tosi maintained merits thoughtful consideration. He emphasized that there are 30,000 Serbian victims of war we never quite hear about. He told the UN member states that the draft of the UN resolution up for the vote on Thursday will “never make” the Serbian victims “part of the equation.” Tosi said that such oversight runs counter to the UN’s core principles, as this organization is supposed to stand for justice for all.
He said that the major stakeholders in Bosnia should have been consulted, including Serbs, Bosnians, and Croatians. However, the Serbs, as a major stakeholder, were not consulted, and this cannot assure the success of the resolution.
“How can you have success in a resolution when you are leaving out the major stakeholder?” he posed the question in front of the UN diplomatic corps.
Vucic: Serbia will never be silenced
President Vucic spoke at the end. “The truth is not one-sided and has never been,” he said. On the eve of the possible adoption of the draft resolution, he reiterated that “Serbia will never be silenced,” or as he put it, “never be silent.” Speaking of the massacre that took place in Srebrenica, he noted that all who committed this war crime were indicted and prosecuted. The President of Serbia spoke of “individual responsibility” for the crimes committed and that the UN resolution on the Srebrenica genocide will create collective responsibility for all Serbs and all victims, including those who gave their testimonies.
Vučić spoke of all the Serbian population that lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars against Nazi Germany, underscoring the historical fact that no UN resolution on genocide was passed for Germany under Hitler.
He warned of “resentment, sorrow, and anger” that a resolution ignoring Serbian victims of war can bring to the region.
“Is this resolution going to unite people in Bosnia and the region? No,” he said.
Vučić said that he cannot “threaten and blackmail” the UN members not to vote like some “co-sponsors are doing,” but what he can do is call upon the UN “not to vote on this resolution and to create the conditions of inclusiveness and dialogue.”
Expressing grave concern over the potential repercussions of a resolution that disregards Serbian victims, Vucic warned of the resentment and division it could sow in the region. He called upon the UN to reconsider, urging inclusiveness and dialogue in the resolution process.
Revealing some details behind the scenes regarding the drafting of the UN resolution, Vucic said that the Serbian Permanent Representative to the UN wanted to discuss their concerns with Germany, but got no response. “You are going to face the resolution in a way that was going to be given to you,” the Serbian Permanent Representative to the UN was told.
He said that Serbia indeed is “small” but should be included in the process of bringing such important resolutions.
“Are you going to say that it was not genocide, the killing of millions of Serbs in the First and Second World Wars by the Nazis? What are you going to say about the different issues all around the world?” Vucic posed questions.
“Are you going to deny it when it does not suit you well?”
Concluding his remarks, Vucic said that Serbia will be paying once again “the biggest price” and asked for the UN to “reconsider” as it can “influence the future” not only in the region but in the rest of the world.
“We are not going to be silent. We will fight for the truth and no one will stop us,” he said.
Serbia’s advocacy, coupled by the poignant testimonies of war victims, rests on a call for a “balanced approach” and the pursuit of equal justice for all affected by the war in Bosnia.
The vote at the UN General Assembly is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday morning, heralding a historic moment for the Western Balkans region, scarred by civil strife three decades ago.
