Neither the representatives of Russia nor of the United States held back their views: To Russia, the resolution to recognize the killings of thousands of civilians as genocide was “politically motivated.” But for Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Russia's refusal to accept the resolution was “madness.”
These remarks were not part of a debate about Syria and the killings in Aleppo, however. They made headlines a year ago as the world commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, in which 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serbs, beginning on July 11, 1995. [...]
Although comparisons between Srebrenica and Aleppo have come from survivors of the former massacre themselves, experts point out one key difference: "News of the Srebrenica massacre was slow to trickle out," said Cameron Hudson, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide. "Because of the internet and social media, we see in real time what is happening inside Aleppo."
Srebrenica nevertheless provides some indications of what might yet come in Syria: a decades-long continuation of hostilities in various ways and a refusal to fully acknowledge responsibility. Despite more evidence being found every year, Serbian denial of the full scale of the massacre is on the rise. [...]
The case of Srebrenica also puts a spotlight at the slow wheels of justice: As of last summer, only 14 individuals had been convicted of their involvement in the massacre. Radovan Karadzic, a former Bosnian Serb political leader and commander of military forces, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in March. But Karadzic and others are considered heroes by many Serbs, despite their proven crimes.
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