General Morillon, a symbol of the international promise that Srebrenica never received, has died

(Patria) - General Philippe Morillon, former commander of United Nations forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, passed away on Thursday, January 29, at the age of 90, announced the French Army and Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin.

Morillon, a five-star general, retired in 1996, and served as commander of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina from September 1992 to July 1993, during one of the most difficult periods of the war, writes the French newspaper Le Monde.

The Chief of Staff of the French Army, Pierre Schill, stated that the army "received the news of the death of General Philippe Morillon with sadness", emphasizing that he was "a great servant of France, who embodied the will of the international community to protect the civilian population in Bosnia".

French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin paid tribute to Morillon as "a great figure and an officer who served his country throughout an exemplary career, from the Saint-Cyr military school, through Sarajevo, to the European Parliament". "In these uncertain times, may his sense of commitment inspire younger generations," she added.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also paid tribute to General Morillon, emphasizing that he "embodied complete dedication to serving France", and was "both a defender of peace and a protector of the civilian population".

However, his death has once again brought to the public's attention one of the most difficult questions of contemporary European history: how was it possible for the genocide in Srebrenica to occur despite the presence of the United Nations and earlier promises of international protection.

General Morillon's name remained permanently linked to the tragedy in Srebrenica. In March 1993, he gained worldwide recognition when, addressing the residents of the besieged enclave, he stated: "From now on, you are under the protection of the United Nations forces. I will never abandon you".

Two years later, in July 1995, Srebrenica fell into the hands of the Army of Republika Srpska, led by General Ratko Mladić, who was later sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. In the days following the fall of the enclave, around 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed or died in ambushes while trying to escape - in a crime that was characterized as genocide by international rulings.

Although Morillon was not the commander of UNPROFOR at the time of Srebrenica's fall, his earlier statement remained a symbol of the international community's inability to fulfill its promise of civilian protection.

Critics point out that Morillon's 1993 statement, although motivated by a desire to reassure the desperate civilian population, created a false sense of security. The UN lacked both the capacity and the political will to translate the promise into actual protection. NATO airstrikes were limited, late, and insufficient, while peacekeeping forces remained passive at the moment when civilian protection was most needed.

Morillon rejected claims that he knowingly misled the residents of Srebrenica until the end of his life, but he never managed to offer a convincing explanation as to why the international protection system did not react more decisively before it was too late, reports N1.