Memory of Srebrenica: Replaced memories and growing tensions

Memory of Srebrenica: Replaced memories and growing tensions

Srebrenica, Bosnien und Herzegowina - On July 11, 2025, the world commemorates one of the darkest chapters in European history: the massacre of Srebrenica, in which Bosnian-Serbian soldiers and Freischärler murdered 8,372 Bosniaken in July 1995. Internationally, this crime is recognized as a genocide, despite the attempts by many Serbs to deny or relativize the deeds. It is a topic that still ensures tensions and conflicts today, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also far beyond

one of the survivors, Nedzad Avdic, remembers the nightmare nights of the massacre. He was only 17 when he was seriously injured during his execution on July 14, 1995, but was dead and escaped. "The genocide is not over as long as the past is not processed," emphasizes Avdic, who lives in Srebrenica again today. There the population is half of Bosniak, half Serbian, which makes living together difficult, as Almasa Salihovic reports in the Potocari memorial.

security concerns and political tensions

The memory of the atrocities is increasingly overshadowed by political tensions and security concerns. The Srebrenica Memorial Center recently had to close its gates, for the first time since its construction, due to fear of riots. This decision was published on March 7, 2025 and is directly related to the condemnation of Milorad Dodik, the President of the Republica Srpska, for one year in prison and a six -year policy ban, which causes excitement in the region.

dodik is at the center of the controversy and compares the number of those killed during the genocide with the 3,600 Serbs who died in the region since the beginning of the war. Vice President Camil Durakovic has sharply criticized this comparison and emphasizes that such a rhetoric undermines the memory of the victims of the genocide.

While in Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska, who is practically not discussed and pupils report that she hardly learns anything about the Bosnia War in class, Journalist Aleksandar Trifunovic is exposed to dangerous threats because he leads interviews with Bosniac survivors. His reporting is a courageous attempt not to be forgotten the story.

The way to reconciliation

The assessment of the atrocities by Dodik and other leading politicians from Republika Srpska remains problematic. While the laws that prohibit the state judicial in the Serbian-dominated part of Bosnia-Herzogowinas, there are numerous international voices, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who demand an end to this dangerous political rhetoric.

The government system in Bosnia-Herzegovina is complicated and characterized by ethnic separations that still have an impact. It is clear that an honest examination of the past, as they demand Avdic and Salihovic, is essential to find a common way of reconciliation. The political tensions that shape the present are a constant call to memory that the teachings from history must not be ignored.