VULIĆ: JUDICIAL INTERPRETATIONS OF WAR EVENTS HAVE REPLACED HISTORICAL FACTS

BANJA LUKA, JULY 5 /SRNA/ – The media and judicial interpretations of wartime events in Srebrenica have replaced the actual historical facts about the crimes committed by Muslims against the Serb people in central Podrinje and the Birač region during the past war, Georgije Vulić, Senior Associate at the Institute of Historical Sciences at the University of East Sarajevo, stated in his SRNA statement.

“The basic principles of historical science have been pushed aside, while propaganda has taken the leading role, shaping certain narratives that remain highly present even today,” said Vulić.

He pointed out that it is very important for Serb historiography to convey the historical truth about the grave crimes committed against Serbs, thus contributing to a better understanding of the story of Republika Srpska and its struggle for freedom in the world.

“The majority of historians who created the image of the war in BiH based on the events in Srebrenica and its surroundings in 1995 did not take into account the historiographic findings about the horrific crimes committed against the Serb people in this region by local Muslims during World War II, nor about the suffering of Serbs in Srebrenica and the entire central Podrinje in 1992 and early 1993,” Vulić stated.

He emphasizes it is very important for Serb historians to present all these events and processes in their monographs and scholarly works, because only through truth can propaganda be countered, no matter how powerful it may be.

According to him, during the Defensive-Patriotic War, in which the Serb people prevented a repeat of the genocide committed against them during the NDH regime, many civilians on all sides of the conflict suffered, including in Podrinje.

Vulić said that the wartime events of the 1990s left numerous consequences, which are still reflected in the post-war divisions among the peoples living in this region.

He recalled that at the very beginning of the last war, in the spring of 1992, Goran Zekić, a deputy of the Serb People Assembly in BiH and a judge of the Basic Court Srebrenica, was ambushed and killed.

“After that, Muslim forces headed by Naser Orić managed to take control of significant parts of the Podrinje territory, during which they committed numerous crimes against Serb civilians in attacks on Serb-majority settlements,” Vulić said.

He noted that these attacks often occurred on major Orthodox religious holidays, involving mass looting, destruction of Serb-owned property, brutal killings, and various other crimes.

“Research so far has confirmed that during 1992 and 1993, more than 60 Muslim attacks were carried out in this area, killing around 2,000 people. Units under Naser Orić’s command also committed numerous crimes against the local Muslim population,” Vulić said.

According to testimonies from some local Muslims, Vulić said, members of formations under Orić’s control committed numerous rapes of women and girls, and sold humanitarian aid products to civilians at prices many times higher than their actual value.

“The majority of the global public has never learned about these events, and this has been greatly facilitated by both local and international courts failing to punish these crimes,” Vulić stated.

Bratunac is today marking the 33rd anniversary of the suffering of the Serb people in central Podrinje and Birač, where 3,267 Serbs were killed during the past war.