Srebrenica Divides Serbs
By Adem Yavuz Arslan, Saraybosna (Sarajevo)
Published: Wednesday, July 13, 2005
zaman.com
As the memorial ceremony of the10th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre opened a new era for Serbs to undertake "self-criticism," Serbian leader Boris Tadic's attendance at the ceremony prompted heated debates among Serbs.
Tadic had said he "bows to the innocent victims". Nationalist circles in the country have harshly criticized his visit to Potocari. Monday's memorial program and Tadic's visit also caused differing reflections in the Serbian media. While Serbia-Montenegro's official television channel PTC preferred "news briefs" regarding the commemoration ceremony, it was broadcast as "priority news" regarding those Serbs that died in the Bosnian War. Although private television broadcasters in the country, B92, the Politika and the Studio B, broadcast the commemoration live, newspapers were in disagreement regarding the issue.
Popular newspapers in the country, the Danas, the Blic and the Novosti published photos of Tadic paying his respects in front of the caskets belonging to the victims and covered the ceremonies widely. These papers expressed the international pressure for the arrest of war criminals, and also printed many photographs of the commemoration ceremony. The Danas printed a special edition on the massacre and said in the headlines that humanity was denigrated in Potocari. It showed Tadic standing in respectful silence. B92 television prepared a special report on Srebrenica on its website and broadcast a chronology of the events as well as witnesses' testimony and details of the ceremony. One of the influential newspapers, the Politika referred to the 10th anniversary of the massacre noting that lessons should be learned for the future.
To the contrary, conservative Serbian dailies ignored the commemoration ceremony. Tha Barba published no news articles on the Srebrenica massacre. Some newspapers recalled only the Serbian soldiers that were killed. A group of Serbian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) attending the commemoration ceremony in Potocari had supported Srebrenican mothers. Members of the Serbian anti-war women's organization expressing their empathy for Bosnian Muslim families had urged that the war criminals must stand before a court and be tried for their crimes. As many people in Serbia-Montenegro believe no massacres was committed in Srebrenica, first images of the massacre published and broadcast last month triggered heated debates around the nation. Families of the victims collapsed when they saw the shocking images that were broadcast on television around the entire world. Some Serbs have changed their attitudes upon viewing these images. When Nura Alispahic, a Bosnian mother tuned on her television, she witnessed how Serbian soldiers had killed her youngest son Azmir 10 years ago. Apart from the first images of the former Yugoslavian dictator Slobodan Milosevic standing before the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, other images will be shown to the public opinion in the upcoming days. New images are predicted to foment the "massacre taboo debates" among the Serbian public.
By Adem Yavuz Arslan, Saraybosna (Sarajevo)
Published: Wednesday, July 13, 2005
zaman.com
As the memorial ceremony of the10th anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre opened a new era for Serbs to undertake "self-criticism," Serbian leader Boris Tadic's attendance at the ceremony prompted heated debates among Serbs.
Tadic had said he "bows to the innocent victims". Nationalist circles in the country have harshly criticized his visit to Potocari. Monday's memorial program and Tadic's visit also caused differing reflections in the Serbian media. While Serbia-Montenegro's official television channel PTC preferred "news briefs" regarding the commemoration ceremony, it was broadcast as "priority news" regarding those Serbs that died in the Bosnian War. Although private television broadcasters in the country, B92, the Politika and the Studio B, broadcast the commemoration live, newspapers were in disagreement regarding the issue.
Popular newspapers in the country, the Danas, the Blic and the Novosti published photos of Tadic paying his respects in front of the caskets belonging to the victims and covered the ceremonies widely. These papers expressed the international pressure for the arrest of war criminals, and also printed many photographs of the commemoration ceremony. The Danas printed a special edition on the massacre and said in the headlines that humanity was denigrated in Potocari. It showed Tadic standing in respectful silence. B92 television prepared a special report on Srebrenica on its website and broadcast a chronology of the events as well as witnesses' testimony and details of the ceremony. One of the influential newspapers, the Politika referred to the 10th anniversary of the massacre noting that lessons should be learned for the future.
To the contrary, conservative Serbian dailies ignored the commemoration ceremony. Tha Barba published no news articles on the Srebrenica massacre. Some newspapers recalled only the Serbian soldiers that were killed. A group of Serbian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) attending the commemoration ceremony in Potocari had supported Srebrenican mothers. Members of the Serbian anti-war women's organization expressing their empathy for Bosnian Muslim families had urged that the war criminals must stand before a court and be tried for their crimes. As many people in Serbia-Montenegro believe no massacres was committed in Srebrenica, first images of the massacre published and broadcast last month triggered heated debates around the nation. Families of the victims collapsed when they saw the shocking images that were broadcast on television around the entire world. Some Serbs have changed their attitudes upon viewing these images. When Nura Alispahic, a Bosnian mother tuned on her television, she witnessed how Serbian soldiers had killed her youngest son Azmir 10 years ago. Apart from the first images of the former Yugoslavian dictator Slobodan Milosevic standing before the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, other images will be shown to the public opinion in the upcoming days. New images are predicted to foment the "massacre taboo debates" among the Serbian public.
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