Serbia Must Face Up to Its Responsibility for Srebrenica

This year, once again, recently-identified remains are being buried at the Srebrenica Memorial Centre. The genocide will continue at least until the last remaining bone is properly put to rest.

Debates about whether this was a genocide or not are an appalling distraction which is a part of an ongoing campaign to cover up Serbia's involvement in the killings of these people, a campaign that has been supported by most of the general public in Serbia, the current and past Serbian authorities, and the country's media.

Meanwhile the so-called international community, which failed to protect the Bosniaks in 1995, will make its declarations and put on a sad face again today, even while it is still enabling Milosevic's successors both in Serbia and Bosnia to continue hurting and offending the families of the dead.

What is unquestionable is that the international community will not in uncertain terms demand any kind of acceptance of responsibility or public display of remorse, or necessary changes in schools' curricula, textbooks, or state-run media, in Serbia or Bosnia's Serb-run entity Republika Srpska.

Instead, the hurt will continue - Serbs will continue to openly dispute proven facts, adding insult to injury for those who suffered the most and who are still suffering.

No shame, no remorse

A mural depicting Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic in a suburb of Belgrade in 2016. Photo: EPA/KOCA SULEJMANOVIC.

For Bosniaks, July 11 is still an inexpressibly painful and insufferably hot summer day, as it has been for a quarter of a century.

This year, nine more victims will be buried at the Srebrenica Memorial Centre - the youngest victim identified over the past year was 23, the oldest was 70 years...