Investigating Srebrenica : institutions, facts, responsibilities

220 Pages·2012·1.373 MB·English

by  Isabelle Delpla, Xavier Bougarel, Jean-Louis Fournel

I S
Studies in Contemporary European History
Editors:
Konrad Jarausch, Lurcy Professor of European Civilization, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Senior Fellow of the Zentrum für Zeithistorische
Studien, Potsdam, Germany
Henry Rousso, Senior Fellow at the Institut d’historie du temps present
(Centre national de la recherché scientifi que, Paris) and co-founder of the
European network “EURHISTXX”
Volume 1
Between Utopia and Disillusionment: A Narrative of the Political Transformation
in Eastern Europe
Henri Vogt
Volume 2
The Inverted Mirror: Mythologizing the Enemy in France and Germany,
1898–1914
Michael E. Nolan
Volume 3
Confl icted Memories: Europeanizing Contemporary Histories
Edited by Konrad H. Jarausch and Thomas Lindenberger with the Collaboration of
Annelie Ramsbrock
Volume 4
Playing Politics with History: The Bundestag Inquiries into East Germany
Andrew H. Bea(cid:308) ie
Volume 5
Alsace to the Alsatians? Visions and Divisions of Alsatian Regionalism,
1870–1939
Christopher J. Fischer
Volume 6
A European Memory? Contested Histories and Politics of Remembrance
Edited by Małgorzata Pakier and Bo Stråth
Volume 7
Experience and Memory: The Second World War in Europe
Edited by Jörg Echternkamp and Stefan Martens
Volume 8
Children, Families, and States: Time Policies of Childcare, Preschool, and
Primary Education in Europe
Edited by Karen Hagemann, Konrad H. Jarausch, and Cristina Allemann-Ghionda
I
NVESTIGATING
S
REBRENICA
Institutions, Facts, Responsibilities
(
Edited by
Isabelle Delpla, Xavier Bougarel,
Jean-Louis Fournel
Berghahn Books
NEW YORK • OXFORD
Published in 2012 by
Berghahn Books
www.berghahnbooks.com
© 2012 Isabelle Delpla, Xavier Bougarel, Jean-Louis Fournel
All rights reserved.
Except for the quotation of short passages
for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book
may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented,
without wri(cid:308) en permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Investigating Srebrenica : institutions, facts, responsibilities / edited by
Isabelle Delpla, Xavier Bougarel, Jean-Louis Fournel.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-85745-472-0 (hardback : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-85745-473-7 (ebook)
1. Yugoslav War, 1991–1995—Atrocities—Bosnia and Hercegovina—
Srebrenica. 2. Srebrenica (Bosnia and Hercegovina)—History—20th
century. I. Delpla, Isabelle. II. Bougarel, Xavier. III. Fournel, Jean-Louis.
DR1313.32.S68I68 2012
949.703—dc23
2011041083
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Printed in the United States on acid-free paper
ISBN 978-0-85745-472-0 (hardback)
ISBN 978-0-85745-473-7 (ebook)
CONTENTS
(
List of Maps vii
Acknowledgments viii
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms x
List of the Srebrenica Reports and Websites xi
Chronology xiv
Introduction
The Judge, the Historian, and the Legislator 1
Isabelle Delpla, Xavier Bougarel, and Jean-Louis Fournel
Chapter 1
The ICTY Investigations 23
Jean-René Ruez
Chapter 2
Introduction to the “Report-Form”: Characteristics and
Temporalities of a Production of Public Truth 40
Jean-Louis Fournel
Chapter 3
Reassessing the French Parliamentary Fact-Finding Mission
on Srebrenica 56
Pierre Brana
Chapter 4
A Tale of Two Commissions: Dutch Parliamentary Inquiries
during the Srebrenica-A(cid:286) ermath 67
Christ Klep
vi | Contents
Chapter 5
Refl ecting on the Dutch NIOD Report: Academic Logic and the
Culture of Consensus 86
Pieter Lagrou
Chapter 6
Reopening the Wounds? The Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina
and the Question of Bosniak Responsibilities 104
Xavier Bougarel
Chapter 7
The Long Road to Admission: The Report of the Government of
the Republika Srpska 131
Michèle Picard and Asta Zinbo
Chapter 8
Facts, Responsibility, Intelligibility: Comparing the Investigations
and Reports 148
Isabelle Delpla
Bibliography 177
Notes on Contributors 186
Name Index 189
Subject Index 194
MAPS
(
Map 1. The former Yugoslavia xix
Map 2. Bosnia-Herzegovina xx
Map 3. The frontlines in Bosnia-Herzegovina (April 1992–
March 1993) 4
Map 4. The frontlines in Bosnia-Herzegovina (April 1993–
March 1994) 5
Map 5. The frontlines in Bosnia-Herzegovina (April 1994–
October 1995) 8
Map 6. Srebrenica: Execution sites and mass graves 24
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
(
This book is part of a long-term, collective, and interdisciplinary research
project, over the course of which its editors have become indebted to many
people and institutions.
We fi rst thank the institutions that have funded this research: the Action
concertée incitative for young researchers (ACI 67110 “Morale, politique et
justice internationale au prisme des sciences humaines: concepts, discours,
représentations”), coordinated by the University Montpellier 3 (research
unit EA 738 “Crises et frontières de la pensée européenne”), from 2002 to
2006; the research network GDR CNRS 2651 “Crises extrêmes,” which also
greatly infl uenced the project of this book; the mixed research unit UMR
CNRS 5206 “Triangle” (Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon – University
of Lyon); and the UMR CNRS 8032 Centre d’études turques, o(cid:308) omanes,
balkaniques et centrasiatiques (CETOBAC) for their lasting support.
This book fi rst appeared in French under the title Srebrenica 1995, Anal-
yses croisées des enquêtes et des rapports, in Cultures & Confl its, no. 67 (Spring
2007); we wish to thank the editors of this journal and the publisher,
L’Harma(cid:308) an, for authorizing its translation into English. We are indebted
to Didier Bigo, Estelle Durand, and Pauline Vermeren for their help. The
French version of this book would not have been possible without the ad-
ditional support of the Offi ce of International Relations of the University
Paris 8 and the Department of Philosophy of the Ecole Normale Supéri-
eure de Paris, in the person of Francis Wolff .
The present book is an updated and enriched version of the French
original, with additional chapters and new sections on historical develop-
ments. It has also benefi ted from the funding of the ACI 67110, of the EA
738, of the UMR 5206, of the UMR 8032, and of the GDR 2651 and from
the support of Romain Descendre via the Institut Universitaire de France
(IUF).
Acknowledgments | ix
We are also immensely grateful to David Harland for his invaluable
input about the Srebrenica events and the writing of the UN report. Like-
wise, the General Hervé Gobillard and Edward Joseph greatly contributed
to our understanding of the fate of Žepa. For the enriching discussions
that led to this book, we are particularly indebted to Pierre Bayard, Magali
Bessone, Devrim Boy, Rony Brauman, Dejan Dimitrij evic, Ger Duij zings,
Claude Gautier, Christian Ingrao, Yann Jurovics, Christopher Lucken,
Frédéric Rousseau, Henry Rousso, Johanna Siméant, Thierry Tardy, and
Arnaud Vaulerin.
A great thanks to Ethan Rundell for the translation of most chapters
and to Peter Burk for his immense help in the editing process of several
chapters.
Finally, we wish to express our warm thanks to all the people in Bosnia,
including acquaintances and dear friends from Srebrenica and elsewhere,
who gave us the desire to carry out this project and helped us in doing
so. Over the years, they have shared much more with us than just infor-
mation, off ering us an all too rare encounter with humane presence and
dignity.
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
(
ARBiH: Army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina (Armij a Republike
Bosne i Hercegovine)
BiH: Bosnia-Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina)
Dutchbat: Dutch Bataillon of blue helmets present in the Srebrenica
enclave
HRC: Human Rights Chamber
ICJ: International Court of Justice
ICMP: International Commission for Missing Persons
ICRC: International Commi(cid:308) ee of the Red Cross
ICTY: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
NIOD: Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (Nederlands Insti-
tuut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie)
RS: Republika Srpska
SBiH: Party for Bosnia-Herzegovina (Stranka za Bosnu i Hercegovinu)
SDA: Party of Democratic Action (Stranka demokratske akcij e)
SDP: Social Democratic Party (Socij aldemokratska partij a)
SDS: Serb Democratic Party (Srpska demokratska stranka)
UNPROFOR: United Nations Protection Force
VRS: Army of the Republika Srpska (Vojska Republike Srpske)