5 Questions for R. Jeffrey Smith (Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and Britannica contributor) on the Srebrenica Massacre

Institute for the Research of Genocide Canada
Published: July 16, 2010  

R. Jeffrey Smith, author of Britannica’s new entry on the Srebrenica massacre, is a National Investigative Correspondent for The Washington Post and winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. He served as Rome bureau chief for the Post and covered the conflicts in Kosovo and Macedonia. He’s kindly agreed, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, in which more than 7,000 Bosniac (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were killed, to answer a few questions posed by Britannica senior editor Heather Campbell.
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Britannica: What were your impressions of Srebrenica when you visited it back in 2000?
Smith: I recall a strange stillness there. With few people on the street, with little commerce, with few public gatherings, it seemed at first as if the town was populated mostly by ghosts rather than live residents. It did not take long to find tensions, in the way people spoke, in the substance of what they said, in the anguish that surfaced immediately in any discussion of the town’s notorious history. I was uneasy visiting the town, since many Serbs then considered Americans to be supporters solely of the Bosnian Muslims. But Serb politicians agreed to meet with me and to answer my questions politely.
It felt odd to tour some of the buildings where thousands had been held before being led away to their deaths; they were mostly deserted, but not much different than in 1995, according to residents. In nearby Bratunac, a town controlled at the time by some of those who had participated in the events surrounding the massacre, it seemed equally odd to see flowers, cafes, and normal (albeit spartan) traffic on the streets. I wondered, how could life resume in such a spot? It seemed as if everyone’s muscles were still clenched, their jaws tight, their feelings guarded, their passions intact but obscured. Unfulfilled ambitions were everywhere, many of them dark and inimical to familiar Western concepts of justice and fairness.
Britannica: How do people in Bosnia and Herzegovina view the ongoing trials of the Bosnian Serbs implicated in the Srebrenica massacre?
Smith: The Hague, where international trials have been conducted, is a long way away, geographically, culturally, and politically. Some of the trials have riveted the population, and great attention was paid when the tribunal concluded for the first time that Serbs had participated in genocide. That word, and that finding, packed a wallop. But I’m not convinced the tribunal’s proceedings have met their goal of enabling healing to occur between the communities. My sense is instead that a political unsteadiness remains pervasive, due to the uncertain resolve of the international community to fix the country’s huge problems and to the persistent political opportunism of the ethnic extremists who still wield overwhelming power.
Britannica: In your opinion, how much culpability do the United Nations and the international community share for the massacre?
Smith: They bear a great burden, but so do the region’s political leaders (on both sides) and their respective military forces. Seen up close, almost every conflict has its share of abuses that grow out of action-reaction cycles of assault and revenge; what distinguished Srebrenica is the obvious elements of planning by top Bosnian Serbs that made the mass murders elements of deliberate policy rather than unchecked misbehavior. Sadly, I think the full story of how much of that planning was known in advance and by whom–outside of the Bosnian Serb military leadership, that is, among Western intelligence services, Bosnian forces, and Serb military and political officers–is still not known, and may never be known.
Britannica: In March, the parliament of Serbia apologized for the massacre but stopped short of calling it genocide. How important was this vote for Serbia’s relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and with the European Union, and did the failure to call it a genocide diminish the importance of the gesture?
Smith: Just as Western governments do not now expect Serbia to recognize the independence of Kosovo, there were few Western expectations in March that Serbia would call what happened in Srebrenica genocide. Poll results there demonstrate that a substantial portion of the population continues to live in denial about what happened, despite the detailed and devastating confessions made at The Hague by some of the key Bosnian Serb participants. The current Serbian government’s vigorous insistence on the apology, despite a public mood that was at best ambivalent, should be read mostly as evidence of its strong desire to strengthen its relations with the EU. The EU was pleased to get it, because its expectations were low anyway and it was a key requirement for movement along the path towards EU membership.
Britannica: Do you think there is any hope for lasting, peaceful coexistence among the various ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Smith: Seeing the future there is not easy. Many residents feel that way, in any event, and so they continue to leave whenever they have the opportunity. This is not to say that life there is devoid of sweetness; it’s present in all three ethnic communities. But my time in the region made me pessimistic that the Bosnian Croat, Muslim, and Serb communities will mix well or easily anytime soon. Those who believe they can find happiness there almost universally feel they can find it within their own community, and only within their own community. A hundred years from now, things may be different.

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2010/07/5-questions-for-r-jeffrey-smith-pulitzer-prize-winning-reporter-and-britannica-contributor-on-the-srebrenica-massacre/