Thursday, July 09, 2015

Twenty Years Ago Srebrenica Showed How Heartless The World Can Be

You want an argument against God, you will not find one easier than case of Srebrenica.
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In July of 1995, the War in Bosnia flared primarily between Serbian and Croatian forces, both trying to grab land in Bosnia as Yugoslavia crumbled.  Serbia was the worst, not by intent, but because it was able to use the entirety of Yugoslavia's heavy war weaponry.
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By July of 1995, the Serbs (in the name of Orthodox Christianity and with the backing of the Serbian Orthodox Church) had been able to force most Muslims (Bosniaks) out of majority Serbian territory and into majority Croat / Bosniak territory.  Many of the Bosniaks in the eastern part of the country were forced onto smaller and smaller parcels, until there were thousands in and around Srebrenica - in makeshift housing.  These were "protected" by a UN force.
The Dutch right before the worst **
On July 11th, the Serbs forced over 8,000 men and boys out of this area.  The UN forces (Dutch - but the EU and NATO knew what was going on) allowed them to be marched away.  Where the prisoners were promptly stripped, gunned down and buried by skip loaders in mass graves.
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The women were systemically raped to end the Bosniak heritage.
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It was the greatest act of ethnic cleansing in Europe since World War II and made a joke of the saying "Never Again".
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Yesterday, three days short of the 20th anniversary of this, Russia vetoed a resolution condemning this act.  LINK The Russian United Nations Representative called the resolution needlessly provocative.  Because addressing the murder of 8,000 in front of a impotent UN force is "provocative".

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Today James Bloodworth uses loose reporting and odd moral equivalency to tie this horrific action to Syrian civil war and blame Obama (LINK), who is actually already bombing and doing what Mr. Bloodworth urges him to do.  He uses this horrific history to score politic points.
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Today, Srebrenica is becoming another stupid ass meme.  Another talking point in the arguments of "I'm right and you're wrong!"
The Srebrenica Exhibition in Sarajevo, right on the Main Square.  I owe it to the people of Bosnia to remember.
Not for me.  Me, I'll light a candle at home.  I'll have a private moment with myself to swear I will try not to EVER be that awful, that hateful.  If there is a God, I wail that he allowed this to happen.  That he let a woman watch her son be murdered in front of her, followed by her husband and then watched someone rape her daughter.  I will try not to blame all Serbs for the actions of a few thousand.  I will call out this same hate in the gleeful and grisly killings by ISIS.
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I will try to find the best in men - as impossible as it sometimes appears.
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** The Dutch, both the Peacekeepers and the general public, have been a bit haunted by their lack of actions in Srebrenica.  More than a few of the Peacekeepers have moved back to Bosnia to try to atone for what happened.  Many of the Dutch public were instrumental in getting War Crimes pursued and prosecuted.  And the government has changed the rules of engagement with the UN so that they are never ordered to do something like that again.