Radovan Karadzic verdict: ‘I hope future warlords are taking note: justice will come one day’

The Independent’s Balkans correspondent visited the killing fields nine months after the Srebrenica massacre

Emma Daly
Thursday 24 March 2016 22:29 GMT
Comments
A memorial to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Potocari, engraved with names of the victims
A memorial to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Potocari, engraved with names of the victims (AFP/Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

It was just a bolt of pink cotton lying on the floor of a school gym but more than 20 years later, it haunts me still: soldiers tore off strips of that cloth, blindfolded dozens of men, trucked them to a nearby field, shot them and buried all but a handful of survivors in mass graves.

Nine months after the Srebrenica massacre, when Radovan Karadzic’s forces killed more than 7,000 people, I travelled through those killing fields, dazed and horrified to see the evidence all around. Scraps of the same pink cloth tramped into the mud of a mass grave, human bones pushing through the seedling grass. Bullet holes, blood, brains scarring the walls of an agricultural warehouse.

There was no point asking: “What happened here?” Because they would just say “nothing”. But if we asked “Where were you when they shot all those men?” it was different – then people would say: “Oh I wasn’t here that day, I was away when it happened.”

It took years for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to gather and present the evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity. I hope future warlords are taking note: justice will come one day.

Emma Daly was The Independent’s Balkans correspondent from 1994 to 1996. She is now communications director at Human Rights Watch

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in