Changing the name of the city does not change the truth about the genocide in Srebrenica!

Written by: Enver Išerić

Recently, the president of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity Republika Srpska stated that "people in Srebrenica want to change its name and that we will see how to do it." Of course, the man made up that some people in Srebrenica want that. And even if they do, not everyone wants it.

Bosniaks do not want it, which is most important. And without their consent, the name of Srebrenica will never be changed. Never, Milorade.

Now let's see what the new name of Srebrenica would be? Probably the people from Srebrenica suggested that to you. Or maybe you once again listened to the recording of Ratko Mladić, sentenced to life imprisonment for the genocide in Srebrenica, who, upon taking Srebrenica on July 1, 1995, said: "Here we are on July 11, 1995, in Serbian Srebrenica. On the eve of another great Serbian holiday, we gift this city to the Serbian people. The time has come that after the uprising against the dahijas, we take revenge on the 'Turks' in this area."

So, he already said then that it was Serbian Srebrenica. Perhaps you were thinking of that new name. And that would somehow be logical, and that name would fit your views on the position and status of Serbs in the world and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to you, everything is Serbian. Serbian forests, Serbian roads, and Serbian air, because you do not even breathe the same air as Muslims – Bosniaks. So, if that is the case, then it would somehow be logical, in your view, for Srebrenica to have the new name "Serbian Srebrenica."

Or maybe not!? Perhaps you want to completely remove the word Srebrenica from the name of that city where the army and police of Republika Srpska committed genocide, which Serbia did not prevent, although it could and was obliged to, and for which it was convicted before the International Court of Justice.

I still think that this second possibility would be more likely, if you really want to change the name. That seems more logical to me. Because I am sure you have nightmares about that "terrible crime," as you like to call the genocide in Srebrenica. Perhaps the scenes of torture and mass killing in Srebrenica haunt you.

Or perhaps you are haunted by the scene of a seven-year-old boy from Srebrenica who survived the execution. Or perhaps it was hard for you that the Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica was adopted and that this genocide will be studied in school textbooks around the world. If that is your reason, then the effort is futile. Srebrenica remains in the Resolution, in the verdicts, and in the textbooks.

So, even if you were to change the name of this city by some chance, nothing would change in your nightmares. Nor would it contribute to the genocide in Srebrenica being forgotten. So, Milorade, do not waste your time. We will not change the name of Srebrenica. We Bosniaks will not. And our word is final, if anywhere or in anything, here it is. And since you have already broached this topic and if you really care about changing some names, we agree to change the name of the entity Republika Srpska. And we will advocate for that.