User:Jonathanmills/Srebrenica Massacre sandbox

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(INTRO AS IT STANDS)

The Srebrenica Massacre, also known as the Srebrenica Genocide, was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in the region of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina by units of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of General Ratko Mladić during the Bosnian War. In addition to the VRS, a paramilitary unit from Serbia known as the Scorpions participated in the massacre. Prior to the genocide, the United Nations had declared Srebrenica a UN-protected "safe area", but that did not prevent the massacre, even though 400 armed Dutch peacekeepers were present at the time. After reviewing a comprehensive report, the Dutch government resigned over this matter in 2002.

The Srebrenica massacre is the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II. In 2004, in a unanimous ruling on the "Prosecutor v. Krstić" case, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) located in The Hague ruled that the Srebrenica massacre was genocide, the Presiding Judge Theodor Meron stating:

By seeking to eliminate a part of the Bosnian Muslims [Bosniaks], the Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide. They targeted for extinction the forty thousand Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica, a group which was emblematic of the Bosnian Muslims in general. They stripped all the male Muslim prisoners, military and civilian, elderly and young, of their personal belongings and identification, and deliberately and methodically killed them solely on the basis of their identity.

In February 2007 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concurred with the ICTY judgement that the atrocities committed at Srebrenica constituted a genocide, stating:

The Court concludes that the acts committed at Srebrenica falling within Article II (a) and (b) of the Convention were committed with the specific intent to destroy in part the group of the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina as such; and accordingly that these were acts of genocide, committed by members of the VRS in and around Srebrenica from about 13 July 1995.

The ICJ also ruled that Serbia failed to take "all measures within its power" to prevent the genocide, and that Serbia was to cooperate fully with the ICTY and that it must transfer to the Hague individuals accused of genocide or any other acts for trial by the ICTY, and several fugitives from the ICTY remain at large and are suspected of hiding in the Bosnian Republic of Srpska or in Serbia.

Although those killed were almost entirely males between the ages of 15 and 65, the massacre also included instances where boys under 15, men over the age of 65, and reportedly also a baby were killed. The Preliminary List of People Missing or Killed in Srebrenica compiled by the Bosnian Federal Commission of Missing Persons contains 8,373 names, of whom some 500 were under 18, and includes several dozen women and some girls. As of 2008, more than 5,600 victims have been identified through DNA analysis and 3,215 victims have been buried at the Memorial Center of Potocari.

(MY FIRST DRAFT)

The Srebrenica Massacre, also known as the Srebrenica Genocide, was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 7,000-8,000+ Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys in the region of Srebrenica, Bosnia by units of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) under the command of General Ratko Mladić during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

[Not sure about exact info here: The Srebrenica Massacre was in fact not a single event but a series of massacres, with executions of male Bosniak prisoners starting when the VRS overran the town of Srebrenica and continuing as elements of the Bosniak Army (ARBiH) 28th Division attempted to escape towards Bosniak-held town of Tuzla. PLEASE NOTE, the details may well be wrong here, but I think we need some sort of overview of the actual events of the SM]

Although those killed were almost entirely males between the ages of 15 and 65 (women, children and the elderly were bused to safety after the fall of the town), the massacre also included instances where boys under 15, men over the age of 65, and reportedly even a baby were killed.

The Srebrenica massacre was the largest mass murder in Europe since World War II. In 2004, in a unanimous ruling on the "Prosecutor v. Krstić" case, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) ruled that the Srebrenica massacre was genocide[1], a judgement which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concurred with in February 2007.[2]

As of 2008, more than 5,600 victims have been identified through DNA analysis and 3,215 victims have been buried at the Memorial Center of Potocari.

Footnote 1: By seeking to eliminate a part of the Bosnian Muslims [Bosniaks], the Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide. They targeted for extinction the forty thousand Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica, a group which was emblematic of the Bosnian Muslims in general. They stripped all the male Muslim prisoners, military and civilian, elderly and young, of their personal belongings and identification, and deliberately and methodically killed them solely on the basis of their identity.

Footnote 2: "[T]he acts committed at Srebrenica...were committed with the specific intent to destroy in part the group of the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina as such...accordingly...these were acts of genocide."

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In addition to the VRS, a paramilitary unit from Serbia known as the Scorpions participated in the massacre.

Prior to the massacre, the United Nations had declared Srebrenica a UN-protected "safe area", but that did not prevent it, even though 400 armed Dutch peacekeepers were present at the time. After reviewing a comprehensive report, the Dutch government resigned over this matter in 2002.

The ICJ also ruled that while it was not directly involved in the massacre, Serbia failed to take "all measures within its power" to prevent the genocide, while several fugitives from the ICTY remain at large and are suspected of hiding in the Bosnian Republic of Srpska or in Serbia.

The Preliminary List of People Missing or Killed in Srebrenica compiled by the Bosnian Federal Commission of Missing Persons contains 8,373 names, of whom some 500 were under 18, and includes several dozen women and some girls. [This could go in the footnote regarding numbers]

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(MY FIRST STAB)