The remains of the victims of the genocide committed in the summer of 1995 in Srebrenica are hidden in at least 80 more mass graves, according to Amor Mašović, a man who has become a symbol of the search for those who disappeared during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He is convinced, when it comes to Srebrenica, that there are graves, primarily of the secondary type, in which there are remains of more than 100 victims.
Mašović worked for many years as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Missing Persons of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he retired a few years ago. Although he is retired, he is available to both associations and institutions as well as families when it comes to the process of searching for missing persons.
So far, 7,757 identities have been verified for Srebrenica. Funerals and burials were performed for 6,960 identified victims. The search for 797 missing persons from the area of Srebrenica and surrounding towns is still ongoing.
“When it comes to Srebrenica, I am convinced that the vast majority of all the remaining missing will be found. A smaller number may not be found, and these are most likely victims whose graves are the Drina river, i.e. the Drina lakes. The vast majority of victims who we are still looking for them there, in the area of Srebrenica, Bratunac, Zvornik, Vlasenica, I am convinced also in the vicinity of Sarajevo, in the area of the municipalities of Trnovo and Kalinovik, where graves with victims of the genocide in Srebrenica have already been located,” Mašović said.
He appealed to the authorities in Banja Luka that it is in their best interest to discover the locations of those mass graves as soon as possible, not only of Srebrenica victims, but also of victims in Prijedor, Nevesinje, Kljuc, Sanski Most, Doboj, Bijeljina, Foča…
“So that in ten or 15 years, some group of authorities in Banja Luka will not be faced with the headlines of the Washington Post, the BBC or some other media that a new mass grave with 100, 200, 300 was discovered in Bosnia and Herzegovina victims of Bosniaks killed during the genocide. It is in their interest that the book called ‘the search for the missing’ is finally closed and that full conditions are created for the true beginning of reconciliation in these areas. Only with the knowledge of the full truth will it be possible to look at each other in the eyes,” Mašović explained.
Preparations are underway for the collective funeral and burial of at least 30 more victims of the genocide committed in 1995 in the area of Srebrenica. This is still not a final number.
Tens of mass graves with the remains of people killed in the genocide committed in the summer of 1995 in the area of Srebrenica were found and exhumed in the area of Srednje Podrinje. These are primary and secondary graves, pits and burnt bodies in houses. Most of the victims of genocide were found and exhumed in 38 mass graves in the area of Zvornik municipality.
The remains of those killed in the genocide are still being sought today.
“When it comes to mass graves and Srebrenica, my estimate is that there are at least 80 more mass graves, in which there are at least three victims each. I am convinced when it comes to Srebrenica that there are graves, primarily of the secondary type, in which remains and more than 100 victims. The same can be claimed for the municipality of Rogatica,” Mašović pointed out.
He reminded that in the past period they discovered more than 1,000 mass graves in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mašović believes that there is no justice in general.
“Justice would be if we could bring back the dead, if we could condemn all those who are responsible for all kinds of crimes, from murder, harassment, rape, beatings, crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes… There is no such kind of justice. I think that someone can hardly be completely satisfied, even when there is a conviction,” Mašović said.
He also recalled the first terrain and meeting with the victims of the genocide committed in Srebrenica.
“My first encounters with the Srebrenica victims were horrifying. It was in the fall of 1996, I was leading a team on Kamenički brdo. When we appeared on Kamenički brdo, the first victims we found were the wounded lying on the surface of those forest, on a stretcher. As we moved along Kamenička brdo and villages, we found a stick about 1.5 meters high, stuck in the ground and on the top of the stick was a human skull. Until then, I had never encountered anything like it, and for me it was horrifying.” , said Mašović.
Later, he worked in the field in Sanski Most and Ključ, where victims were found in natural pits.
“Children and women in the graves. When it comes to Srebrenica, those first secondary graves were horrifying. One bone of the head, one leg under it, three arms… All this leaves permanent traces in our consciousness,” Mašović added.
During the war in the 1990s, 34,000 people were reported missing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Out of 34,000 reports, the disappearance of 29,704 people was verified. Another 7,500 people are missing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and so far 80 percent of the missing have been found, Federalna reports.
