The government of the Republic of Srpska was ordered in 2003 by Bosnia’s then High representative, Paddy Ashdown, to form a commission to report on some events “in and around Srebrenica” in July of 1995. The order was triggered by a lawsuit filed by the survivors of 49 missing Moslems who – quite understandably – were anxious to learn something about the fate of their relatives. The narrow mandate of the commission was to provide information on these 49 missing persons, joined later by an additional 1800 who made a similar application. Its broader (if unspoken) mandate was to furnish a self-incriminating description of Srebrenica events that would be satisfactory to Bosnia’s notoriously anti-Serb High representative.
The latter part of the mandate underwent some change as work went along because the commission’s initial plan was to set the search for missing persons against a detailed “presentation of the genesis of the events which occurred in the relevant period (July 10-19, 1995)”.[1] Once it got bogged down in cross-checking and purging the multiple missing perons’ lists, the commission realized that it had neither the manpower nor the resources for an in depth investigation of the broader issue. The commission therefore made the choice to use a pre-packaged version of events in the form of the “historical context and factual background” contained in the Krstić judgment at ICTY.[2]
One part of the commission’s finished product was very useful. They compared overlapping lists of reportedly missing persons and purged them of double and even triple entries. They reduced the total number of the reportedly missing (i.e. persons whose status was unknown) from over 12,000 (with all the multiple entries) to 7,108 between July 10 to 19, 1995 who were reported to be missing. That, according to the commission, was the statistical situation as of 2004.[3]
However, in another area of its work the commission had a complete breakdown. That was its presentation of the “factual” background of events from July 10 to 19, 1995. Claiming that they did not have time or resources to independently research these issues, which was probably correct, their “Solomonic” solution was worse than none at all. They chose to incorporate within their report the factual findings of the Krstić trial verdict and treat that as their own “factual” basis. Accordingly, disarticulated fragments from the Krstić verdict were selected by the commission to compose a background narrative of Srebrenica events which is, naturally, as dubious as its source. The commissioners made no effort to consult other sources for the facts they might have felt they needed. It is safe to assume that they did not want to risk Ashdown’s wrath.
The best analogy to what the commission did is to imagine someone setting out to write a history of the Jewish people and asking Dr. Goebbels’ Propaganda Ministry to provide “historical context and factual background” for the project.
The 2004 Republic of Srpska Srebrenica Commission report was soon largely forgotten and it became practically unavailable in electronic or printed form. It enjoyed a brief resurgence during the Srebrenica genocide resolution debate in Serbia in 2010, with proponents of a Serbian parliamentary resolution labeling the Srebrenica massacre an act of “genocide,” and requiring Serbia to express contrition for it, arguing that the 2004. Republika Srpska commission’s report supported their views. They frequently misquoted the 2004 report. They argued that since the Republic of Srpska had supposedly already admitted to the crime and its magnitude, why shouldn’t Serbia do that as well?
But as is often the case, things are not that simple. Nowhere in the Republic of Srpska 2004 report does it say that genocide was committed in Srebrenica.[4] With respect to numbers, the commission concluded that, after it had meticulously cross-checked and purged all the missing persons’ lists provided by various sources, as of 2004 there were 7,108 names of persons who were reported missing between July 10 and 19, 1995, but concerning whose fate no information was available. That figure is suspiciously close to the official number of 8,000, to be sure. But clearly, “missing” and “executed” are entirely different categories and for all we know many who were technically “missing” in 1995 may now be alive and well somewhere else. It is understandable if neither they nor their relatives have since then bothered to notify any of the relevant agencies of that fact.
Enter Mr. Mirsad Tokača, director of the Sarajevo Research and Documentation Center which produced the “Bosnian War Crime Atlas,” a document which we have criticized rather extensively. While visiting Banja Luka on March 30, 2010 to present the findings of his Atlas, Mr. Tokača dropped what many Serbs thought was a bombshell: that 500 of the supposedly Srebrenica missing were identified by his organization between 2004 and 2007 as being in fact alive.[5]
To return to the 2004 Republic of Srpska Srebrenica Commission report, which we post here exclusively for the benefit of our readers, while the review of the missing lists is indeed a job well done, the inclusion of the Krstić judgment version of the „facts“ was a complete disaster which almost cancels the positive effects of the commission’s performance. A careful reading of pages 8 to 24 of the report, which were completely lifted from the controversial Krstić judgment, conveys the unequivocally dismal picture that the official Srebrenica narrative is essentially correct. When cited „facts“ incorporated from the Krstić judgment are added up in terms of the alleged executions, a minimum figure of 5,000 victims is reached.[6] If the government Commission accepts the Krstić narrative to the extent of admitting that Serbian forces are responsible for the execution of about 5,000 prisoners, the basic charges against the Republic of Srpska are thereby validated. It would then seem pointless to pretend, as is done elsewhere in the same report, that at least 7,108 Srebrenica residents are still „missing“. If the Krstić factual matrix is acceptable, the fate of at least 5,000 of the „missing“ has in fact been implicitly solved: they were shot by Serbian forces, exactly as charged by the Hague tribunal.
That, of course, is not supported by the evidence and it is not correct. But it is the plain and embarrassing conclusion which, within the pages of the same document, awkwardly coexists with the results of a credible statistical research project. That fusion of incompatible elements was officially adopted by the Republic of Srpska government in 2004.
We now present this report to our readers for their consideration. It should be noted that it comes in two parts. The interim report, including the dubious factual background, was presented on schedule in June of 2004. Additional time was requested, and granted, for the completion of the statistical analysis, and that is the October 2004 report. We also present, for the record, the page from Mr. Tokača’s RDC website which reflects his remarks in Banja Luka that 500 missing persons were found by his organization to be alive, and which was since then mysteriously excised. Ab audio version of his remarks has, however, been preserved and is attached below.
It should be noted that the 2004. Republic of Srpska Report on Srebrenica is no longer in effect. It was annulled by parliamentary vote on August 14, 2018. The Republic of Srpska parliamanet on that occasion instructed the government to form a new commission to study events related to Srebrenica and to report its findings.
We are happy to post both parts of the 2004. Srebrenica Report. Regretfully, the only available version is in Serbian, but that is not something that should discourage researchers.
Endnotes:
[1] Republic of Srpska Government Srebrenica Commission Report, June 2004, p. 4.
[2] Ibid., p. 5
[3] It should be noted that in the chaos and confusion after the fall of Srebrenica, many agencies, including ICRC, were receiving reports of missing persons. These agencies were basically information clearinghouses and were not tasked with investigating the fate of persons reported to be missing. Lists were developed by different agencies and many names ended up on more than one list.
[4] The single time the word “genocide” is used is when quoting from the Krstić judgment, correctly as it turns out, to the effect that the accused was convicted of “aiding and abetting genocide.” The commission did not, however, take a position in the matter and explicitly noted that it was not a judicial body and lacked a mandate to deal with legal issues. Ibid., p. 5
[5] http://www.frontal.rs/cyrl/?page=2&kat=1&vijest=40186 A report on Mr. Tokača’s Banja Luka presentation, including the admission that 500 missing Srebrenica residents were discovered alive, was posted for a while on the IDC website (http://www.idc.org.ba/) , but after it ignited a controversy it vanished mysteriously. Fortunately, we have preserved the audio version of Mr. Tokača’s remarks.
[6] Petkovci, 1,500 to 2,000 victims (p. 18); Branjevo, 1,000 to 1,200 (p. 22); Pilice, 500 (p. 22); Kozluk, 500 (p. 22); Kravica, 1,000 (p. 16), and Nova Kasaba, “a considerable number” (p. 16).
Republic of Srpska Srebrenica Commission Report, June 2004
Republic of Srpska Srebrenica Commission Report, October 2004
Mirsad Tokača on about 500 Srebrenica victims found alive: