Our recent remarks concerning the credibility of some of the key evidentiary claims upon which the Srebrenica narrative is based [“Karl Popper Looks at Srebrenica”] elicited lively commentary, and not just in the arcane field of philosophy of science. One reader in particular has taken the trouble to research what space-based photographic surveillance technology can…
The virtues of unfalsifiability: Karl Popper looks at Srebrenica
We owe to Karl Popper the invaluable insight that for a hypothesis, proposition, or theory to be considered potentially true it must be falsifiable, or refutable. To be refuted, something must first be tested. It must be possible to produce a reproducible result that is in conflict with a claim, or that claim might as…
Sadik Selimović: Serbian commander thwarts lynching of Muslim wounded after the fall of Srebrenica
In the Krstić Trial Judgment, par. 547, the Chamber concludes that “[T]he evidence shows that the VRS sought to kill all the Bosnian Muslim military aged men in Srebrenica, regardless of their civilian or military status.” That categorical statement is contradicted by Dutchbat surgeon Dr. A. A. Schouten and UN Military Observers in Srebrenica, among…
Dutchbat doctor’s observations in Srebrenica in July 1995
This account of experiences in Srebrenica in July 1995 was given soon after the events he witnessed by Dutch doctor and officer of the Dutch battalion, A. A. Schouten. During the critical period, Dr. Schouten was on the spot. On 27 July 1995, while impressions were still fresh and before any external influences could reshape…
Muslim military-age males captured but not executed by Serb forces between 11 and 17 July 1995
In the Krstić case, the chamber articulated a very clear position on this point. The chamber’s view of Srebrenica executions in par. 546 imposes strict evidentiary standards and leaves it little room for manoeuvre: “The Trial Chamber is ultimately satisfied that murders and infliction of serious bodily or mental harm were committed with the intent…
George Pumphrey: Thoughts on ICTY and its pretensions
There is a big difference between “being proven guilty of a crime” and “being convicted of a crime.” The former is the result of the presentation of evidence in a fair trial, while the latter is the administrative decision reached by the court – regardless of evidence or fairness. However, the population has been induced…
U.N. Military Observers debriefing after the fall of Srebrenica
This is a restricted UN document that arguably was never meant to see the light of day. U.N. Military Observers (UNMOs) were stationed in Srebrenica together with Muslims in July 1995, when the Bosnian-Serbs attacked the enclave. UN Military Observers told their debriefers in New York that “the UNMOs were with the [Muslim] refugees for…
Aleksandar Jokic*: Conventional wisdom about Yugoslavia and Rwanda — Methodological perils and moral implications
While ostensibly a response to a critique, the main goal of this Article is to demonstrate how easily conventional wisdom, usually shaped by the media and politics, can corrupt scholarship when it is simply presupposed by those engaged in what should be an academic polemic, yet often also includes ‘activism in scholarship’. The examples of…
Andy Wilcoxson: Radovan Karadzic, a Serbian Hero
Despite a politically motivated war crimes conviction and a sentence of life imprisonment by the ICTY Appeals Chamber, former Bosnian-Serb president Radovan Karadzic is widely seen as a hero by Serbs. who scoff at the Tribunal and its proceedings. Our associate Andy Wilcoxon explains why. Former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic’s sentence for war crimes committed…
ICTY’s evidence for Srebrenica genocide
Genocide is incontestably the central issue in all Srebrenica trials at ICTY. It is the essence of the “conventional wisdom” on the subject of Srebrenica. It is also the principal conclusory emanation of the controversial history writing project that the Hague Tribunal has taken upon itself, arguably while overstepping the legitimate mandate of a proper…