by Sheri Fink
Documents
Population figures for Gladovići, Srebrenica, and all other Bosnian towns and villages mentioned in the book are from the March 31, 1991, census, “Statistićki bilten” No. 234, DZS BiH, Sarajevo, as presented by the Bosnian Congress USA, http://www.hdmagazine.com/bosnia/census.html (accessed 3/4/03) and Den Krieg Uberleben (Bonn, Germany) http://refugees.atvirtual.net/de/1991/buh_1991.html (accessed 3/4/03).
Ilijaz’s recollections in our interviews were checked against a transcript of his fall 1995 interview with Laurence de Barros-Duchêne (parts published in de Barros-Duchêne, Srebrenica). Pre-war promotional flyer for the Banja Guber spa. “Florističko-faunističko-turističke ljepote Srebrenice,” by Jakov Sucic.
Other Materials
NIMA 1:50,000 topographic maps of the relevant areas of Bosnia and Serbia (used for reference throughout the book). Information on Tara Mountain can be found on www.uzice.net/tara. Accessed 1/22/03. E-mail exchange (1/22/03) with the site administrator, Predrag Supurović, confirmed details about Tara, the Drina River dam and hydroelectric power plant. Descriptions of the pre-war town were based partly on a home videotape (exact origins unknown) of Srebrenica imprinted July 17 and 18, 1990, and a remarkable, sugary promotional film for the Banja Guber spa (Banja Guber Centar za Lijecinje, produced by Jadra, Zagreb, year unknown) presenting Srebrenica as a “prosperous, modern town,” and showing footage from the 1990 Srebrenica cultural festival.
Notes
PAGE 29 “Comrade Tito”… Front page of a special issue of Srebreničke novine 3(24), at the event of Tito’s death, May 1980, as quoted in Duizings, History, Memory and Politics in Eastern Bosnia.
CHAPTER 4: EJUB
Interviews
Dr. Ejub Alić, Mubina Alić
Published Literature
Duizings, History, Memory and Politics in Eastern Bosnia, Chapter 4 (economic and social changes in eastern Bosnia), 5 (confirms story of two killed just outside of Srebrenica in early April 1992).
CHAPTER 5: WAR
Interviews
Ajka Avdić, Dr. Sabit Begić, Mirsad Dudić, Muhamed Duraković, Samira Hodžić, Dr. Fatima Klempić-Dautbašić, Dr. Ilijaz Pilav, Ibrahim Purković, Naim Salkić, Ahmedan, Hikmeta and Nedžla Ustić
Published Literature
Duizings, History, Memory and Politics in Eastern Bosnia, Chapter 5 (story of Osmaće); Ivanišević, Hronika Našeg Groblja, p. 41, 59, 71 (for Serb version of the May 7, 1992, ambushes including names and birth dates of those killed), 74, 168 (Shpat offensive); Ivanišević, “Fate of the Serbs,” p. 83 (Shpat); Mašić, Srebrenica, p. 46 (for Srebrenica version of May 7, 1992, ambushes); “NIOD Report,” I/10/7 (atrocities in Bratunac); Orić, Srebrenica, p. 143 (for Srebrenica version of May 7, 1992, ambushes); Selimović, The Fortress, p. 4; van Laerhoven, Srebrenica, Chapter 5 (Ilijaz’s thoughts in the woods).
Documents
Transcript of interview with Dr. Ilijaz Pilav conducted by Laurence de Barros-Duchêne in the autumn of 1995.
Other Materials
Videotape footage of Srebrenica imprinted June 1, 1992, showing burnt houses with no rooftops and a damaged minaret.
Notes
PAGE 45 They witnessed lines of villagers… NIOD Report II/2/3 and 4 describes “large-scale ethnic cleansing” of the Muslims in late April (in several towns including Bratunac) and beginning on May 1 when certain Muslim villages refused to give up their weapons and surrender: “Paramilitary units and local SDS militias were sent to the villages; they chased the Muslim population out of their villages, killed them, plundered their houses and set them in flames. In Bratunac, the Bosnian-Serbian authorities began to pick up Muslims, political leaders and intellectuals primarily, also from Srebrenica, a large number of whom were killed.”
PAGE 45 If this was war… Duizings, History, Memory and Politics in Eastern Bosnia, chapter 5, reports that a year before the war, in spring 1991, Serb paramilitary leaders began recruiting in eastern Bosnia. After withdrawing units from Croatia, the Yugoslav army reinforced its positions along the Drina River, with artillery on the mountains across the border in Serbia directed toward Srebrenica. When Muslim villages in Bosnia first came under fire from gunmen in Serbia, on September 5, 1991, local leaders of the Muslim nationalist party, the SDA, that controlled Srebrenica suggested the establishment of crisis staffs to arm local Muslims. Most of the promised arms were never delivered. Ilijaz denied knowledge of such a crisis staff. He and others interviewed for this chapter recalled only that automatic guns were given to members of the police reserves (consisting of both Serbs and Muslims) some months prior to the war.
PAGE 46 Ilijaz might have been a doctor… Ilij az’s group had three former policemen who had submachine guns. These were likely the weapons that had been distributed to the police reserves before the war.
PAGE 54 Out of Srebrenica’s original forty-five doctors… This figure is from Dr. Sabit Begić, the pre-war director of Srebrenica’s health clinic.
CHAPTER 6: A BLUE FEAR
Interviews
Dr. Rony Brauman, Dr. Eric Dachy, Guy Hermet, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, Dr. Jean-Pierre Luxen
Published Literature
Agence France-Presse, May 29, 1992 (“Relief chief castigates EC ‘cowardice’ over Bosnia”), June 5, 1992; Bouchet-Saulnier, “Peacekeeping Operations Above Humanitarian Law,” pp. 125–130; Donini, “Beyond Neutrality,” pp. 31–45; Eknes, “Blue Helmets in a Blown Mission?” p. 58; Hermet, “The Human Rights Challenge to Sovereignty,” pp. 131–137; Holbrooke, To End a War, p. 48; ICRC, Saving Lives, p. 8 (details of the May 22, 1992, agreement by all conflicting parties to respect International Humanitarian Law); Jean, “Refugees and Displaced Persons”; Oberreit and Salignon, “Bosnia”; Rieff, Slaughterhouse, pp. 164, 196–198; Rufin, “The Paradoxes of Armed Protection,” pp. 111–123; Sandoz, “‘Droit’ or ‘devoir d’ingérence’ and the right to assistance,” pp. 215–227; Silber and Little, Yugoslavia, pp.254–256 (Sarajevo airlift).
Documents
“Sarajevo Declaration on the Humanitarian Treatment of Displaced Persons,” April 11, 1992, signed by Alija Izetbegović, president of the Party of Democratic Action; Radovan Karadžić, president of the Serbian Democratic Party; Miljenko Brkić, president of the Croatian Democratic Community; and Jose Maria Mendiluce, special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Press releases of the International Committee of the Red Cross: #1715 May 18, 1992 (attack on ICRC), #1716 May 19, 1992 (killing of ICRC workers), and #1719 May 27, 1992 (withdrawal of ICRC).
Logistics report of MSF Belgrade covering the period 4/29/92–6/30/92; MSF report entitled “ex-Youg resumé d’activities” dated 1/11/93.
Eric Dachy’s unpublished chronicle of his experiences in the former Yugoslavia.
UN documents: UNSC Resolutions 758 and 764 (1992), concerned airlift to Sarajevo and extended mandate for U.N. Protection Force to work in Bosnia, 770 (1992) called on member states to take necessary steps to deliver humanitarian aid, and 777 (1992) authorized UNPROFOR to protect relief convoys and assist the International Committee of the Red Cross in escorting released detainees (an unprecedented step for the ICRC).
Notes
PAGES 55–56 Just days after Bosnia’s recognition… Egnes, “Blue Helmets in a Blown Mission.”
PAGE 56 The headquarters of Doctors Without Borders… “Relief chief castigates EC ‘cowardice’ over Bosnia,” Agence France-Presse, May 29, 1992.
PAGE 60 The plan split the aid community. Sandoz, Yves. “‘Droit’ or ‘devoir d’ingérence’ and the right to assistance: the issues involved.” International Review of the Red Cross. May-June 1992, No. 288, pp. 215–227.
CHAPTER 7: INGRESS
Interviews
Dr. Ejub Alić, Mubina Alić, Dr. Fatima Klempić-Dautbašić, Dr. Ilijaz Pilav, Naim Salkić
Published Literature
Duizings, History, Memory and Politics in Eastern Bosnia, Chapter 7 (attack on Sase); Ivanisević, Hronika, p.
77–79 (Serbs killed in Petrovdan attacks), 286–8; Mašić, Srebrenica, p. 80, 86 (Shpat, Zalazje attacks on Petrovdan); Sudetic, Blood and Vengeance, p. 155.
Other Materials
Srebrenica Hospital Maternity Record Book showing the dates of deliveries and the names of physicians and nurses who assisted with them. The first delivery after the start of the war took place on July 14 1992 (the last recorded delivery before the war was on April 17, 1992).
Notes
PAGE 66 The month after the war started… Suljice was the village beside Alići that was burned.
CHAPTER 8: WAR OPERATIONS
Interviews
Dr. Ejub Alić, Dr. Avdo Hasanović, Damir Ibrahimović, Dr. Fatima Klempić-Dautbašić, Hakija Meholjić, Sabahudin Muhić, Dr. Nedret Mujkanović, Naser Orić, Dr. Ilijaz Pilav, Ibrahim Purković, Rahima Tursunović-Ibrahimović
Other Materials
Transcript of interviews with Srebrenica health care workers performed by Laurence de Barros-Duchêne in fall, 1995.
Notes
PAGE 68 “Sarajevo” English translation in DeKleva and Post, “Genocide in Bosnia.”
CHAPTER 9: NEDRET
Interviews
Dr. Sead Ahmetagić, Hadžo Gadžo, Mensur Gadžo, Dr. Besim Hajdarović, Dr. Ibrahim Huskić, Dr. Senad and Jasmina Kasumović, Azra Mujkanović, Dr. Nedret Mujkanović, Dr. Miroslav Oprić (Nedret’s mentor in pathology), Dr. Božina Radević (director of surgery at Tuzla Hospital), Dr. Adi Rifatbegović, General Hazim šadić
Published Literature
The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina, pp. 154–160, 168
Documents
Delic, Sead, “Privremena Ratna Formacija 2 Sanitetskog Bataljona,” Armija Republike Bosne i Hercegovine Komanda 2 Korpusa, Sektor za Popunu i Personalne Poslove 2 Korpusa, Tuzla, February, 1995; Gavrilović, Radivoj, “Osnovi Taktike i Organizacije Sanitetskob Snabdevanja Oružanih Snaga,” Vojnomedicinska Akademija JNA, Katedra taktike i organizacije sanitetske službe, 1971, pp. 43–44; Letter to Dr. Asim Kurjak from the health administration of the Second Corps, dated November 10, 1992, describing the structure of the health system and war hospitals in southeast Bosnia; “Nivoi Zdravstvene Zastite 2 Korpus, šema 2,” from the archives of the Second Corps Sanitary Service, Tuzla.
Other Materials
Photographs of the early medical stations where Nedret worked. Notes taken on visit to the sites. Photograph of Sava Kovačević.
Notes
PAGE 78 “It can’t wait.” Both Nedret and the chairman (Dr. Božina Radović) recalled having the conversation, but Nedret alone of the two remembered details of the dialogue, and so this exchange is based solely on his recollection.
CHAPTER 10: PROFESSIONAL DUTY
Interviews
Dr. Avdo Hasanović, Rifet Ibišević, Damir Ibrahimović, Dr. Fatima Klempić-Dautbašić, Hakija Meholjić, Dr. Nedret Mujkanović, Dr. Ilijaz Pilav, Rahima Tursunović-Ibrahimović
Published Literature
Emergency War Surgery, p. 87; Ivanišević, Chronicle of an Announced Death, p. 76 (statement of Rajko Jovanović, a Serb survivor of August 8 Srebrenica offensive on Ježestica).
Documents
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Case IT-02-61-I, indictment July 3, 2002, “The Prosecutor of the Tribunal against Miroslav Deronjić” (details about killings of Muslims and destruction of Glogova); Human Rights Watch report: “Chemical Warfare in Bosnia? The Strange Experiences of the Srebrenica Survivors,” Human Rights Watch, November 1998, Volume 10, Number 9 (D) (Yugoslav army had weaponized sarin and experimented with soman, tabun, and VX).
Other Materials
Videotape footage from Srebrenica Hospital imprinted August 8, 1992, depicting several of the operations described in this chapter.
Notes
The events in the hospital on August 8 were reconstructed using a combination of videotape footage and the memories of the doctors and soldiers who participated in them. No existing medical records could be found to confirm the sequence of the operations.
CHAPTER 11: “DEAR DOCTOR”
Interviews
Dr. Rony Brauman, Dr. Eric Dachy, Guy Hermet, Dr. Vesna Ivančić, Laurens Jolles, Dr. Slavica Jovanović, Judith Kumin, Dr. Jean-Pierre Luxen, Fahreta Omić, Dr. Lazer Prodanović, Gerard van Driessche
Published Literature
Associated Press, November 27, 1992; BBC Summary of World Broadcasts (Radio Bosnia-Hercegovina), December 7, 1992; Christian Science Monitor, November 30, 1992 (“UN convoy relieves siege on Bosnia town,” by Jonathan Landay); DeKleva and Post, “Genocide in Bosnia,” pp. 485–496; Duizings, History, Memory and Politics in Eastern Bosnia; The Economist, December 5, 1992; Financial Times, November 25, 26, 28, 30 (“Aid for Srebrenica after seven-month siege: Laura Silber arrives with the UN convoy bringing relief to a Moslem stronghold in Bosnia,” by Laura Silber), 1992; The Guardian, November 30, 1992; The Independent (London), November 7, 27, 28, 1992; Ivanišević, “Fate of the Serbs,” pp. 76–77 (testimony of Slavoljub Rankić, Serb survivor of December 14, 1992 attack on Bjelovac); The New York Times, November 29, 1992; Post and DeKleva, “The Odyssey of Dr. Radovan Karadžić”; Nelan, “Seeds of Evil”; Rieff, Slaughterhouse, p. 210; Silove, “The Psychiatrist as a Political Leader in War,” pp. 125–126; The Times (London), September 22, November 17, 27, 30, 1992; United Press International.
Documents
Eric Dachy’s unpublished chronicle of his experiences in the former Yugoslavia.
“UNHCR Update on Ex-Yugoslavia,” November 25 and December 1, 1992; MSF unpublished documents: Faxes from Eric Dachy to MSF Belgium Headquarters and MSF Yugoslavia task force December 6 and 12, 1992, reporting on the trip to Srebrenica and containing drafts of his letters to UNHCR and to Radovan Karadžić; Letter from Eric Dachy to Nedret Mujkanović, undated, delivered on December 10, 1992. UN document S/1994/674/Add.2 28 December 1994, Report of the UN Commission of Experts on the former Yugoslavia, Established Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 780 (1992), Annex 4, Part 6 (the “ethnic cleansing” campaign). World Medical Organization “Resolution concerning Dr. Radovan Karadžić,” adopted October 1996 (denounces Karadžić for failing to have turned himself in to the ICTY: “… as a physician he is bringing our profession into disrepute”).
Other Materials
The film Serbian Epics (1993, BBC TV, UK), directed by Paul Pawlikowski contains interviews with Radovan Karadžić and information on his family history. The physical descriptions of Karadžić are based on viewing this film.
Notebook found in Srebrenica Hospital labeled “Protokol Bolesnika,” containing a list of medicines provided to outpatients, was used to confirm doctors’ memories of the supplies they had in winter 1993. These included predominantly antibiotics, antiparasitics, painkillers, blood pressure and heart medications, diuretics, anti-nausea drugs, vitamins, and anti-anxiety drugs as would be expected after having received basic drug kits from MSF.
Notes
PAGE 89 Just before dying in 1992… This quote is from Armstrong and Forestier, “Ending the Balkan Nightmare” (Forestier’s study of Rašković and this quote are also discussed in Annex 4 of the U.N. Commission of Experts final report). Rašković is said to have spoken these words on Belgrade’s “Yutel” television station. I could find no other reference to confirm this information.
PAGE 90 “Dear doctor… ” The hypocrisy of Karadžić’s greeting outraged Eric Dachy, but in an interview he offered a different analysis, using his own knowledge of psychology. “Literally he was saying, ‘I would like to meet you in other circumstances.’ And he said it and addressed me as a doctor. Maybe he was expressing a deep wish, an unconscious wish, to be in better circumstances. I didn’t feel so at the time, but this occurred to me later. He was old. I was young. The whole world saw him as evil. I was representing good and he was representing evil and he must have felt it. This made me feel he had a soul, but he was simply hiding it. It was under a layer of brutality.�
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PAGE 95 Patients have died… Srebrenica doctors recalled at least one diabetic patient having died for lack of insulin. Several patients with need for more sophisticated treatments also died early in the war, including those dependent on kidney dialysis.
PAGE 97 He sends the letter. The attack on December 14, 1992, took place in the towns of Bjelova and Loznička Rijeka.
PAGE 97 During the attack… Dr. Vesna Ivančić of the Bratunac health clinic, interviewed by the author in 1999, estimated one hundred and six wounded and seventy-six dead, including two medics.
CHAPTER 12: SPECIAL K
Interviews
Mensur Gadžo, Hakija Meholjić, Dr. Nedret Mujkanović, Naser Orić, Dr. Simon Mardel, Dr. Ilijaz Pilav, Ibrahim Purković
Published Literature
