Writing for the European Courier, former ICTY spokeswoman Florence Hartmann slammed Western powers and international courts for not adequately protecting the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, either in the runup to the genocide or in the recent litigation. In her first book, Peace and Punishment, Hartmann accused Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France of sheltering Serb war criminals.
The general facts of the attack on Srebrenica are relatively uncontroversial. Srebrenica had been a hotly contested area throughout the conflict. It was declared a United Nations Safe Zone in 1993, and peacekeepers were stationed there. The Bosnian Serb militia (VRS) lay siege. As of early 1995, it was held by the Bosnian government, along with two neighbroing municipalities – a vulnerable island amidst Bosnian Serb-controlled territory. Nonetheless, VRS attacked on July 6 and conquered the area on July 11. Subsequently, VRS and a paramilitary group called the Scorpions killed every Bosniak man and boy in the Srebrenica enclave, engaging in a string of mass killings over the next few days. Dutch peacekeepers present were ineffectual (though a Dutch report effectively exoneratedthem, blaming political and military leadership for putting them in an untenable position where they quickly became de facto hostages) and NATO air support was unsuccessful.
ICTY and the International Court of Justice have both determined, in separate cases, that genocide was committed in Srebrenica. However, the ICJ found that Serbia was not liable, lacking sufficient control over the Bosnian Serb VRS, and the leading VRS commanders remain at large. Srebrenica itself remains in the Republika Srpska.
To this body of fact, Hartmann adds allegations that Western powers knew the attack was coming, and implies that they also knew a genocide would result. Though she offers no conclusive smoking gun, the allegations will certainly be controversial in the still-tense Balkans.
