My revenge against Butcher of Bosnia is that I survived to be here today with my wife & kids
After warlord is jailed for genocide, Srebrenica remembers his crimes
made it to safety 45 miles away in Tuzla, but most were less fortunate.
Another resident of Srebrenica who watched with satisfaction as Mladic was put behind bars for the rest of his days was widow Saliha Osmanovic, whose family were ripped apart by Mladic’s henchmen.
Her youngest son Edin was killed by a grenade in July 1995. Less than a week later, her husband Ramo and son Nermin were executed after trying to flee.
The Serbs had forced Ramo to call out on a loudhailer to Nermin and others hiding in the forest that it was safe to return, a despicable trick that lured the younger man to his death.
Saliha and thousands of other women waited in vain for their men to arrive at the refugee camp they had been bussed to by the Serbs.
All males from age 12 to 77 had been separated for “interrogation for suspected war crimes” and held in trucks and warehouses before the massacres.
Over four days, thousands of Bosniak men and boys were murdered by Serbs at sites around Srebrenica.
There are 8372 graves at the mausoleum today and skeletons are still being recovered.
But many Serbs in Bosnia deny the genocide, including Srebrenica’s mayor Mladen Grujicic.
Speaking on a street that was once the frontline in Sarajevo, Hasan Nuhanovic explains how Mladic has left behind a country torn in two.
Hasan lost his dad, mum and younger brother. He watched as refugees including family members were handed over to the Serbs by UN peacekeepers.
Mladic’s ethnic cleansing means Serbs and Bosniak Muslims rarely live together now, he says. Pointing out the bullet holes in the outer walls of the apartment complex where he lives, Hasan says: “We are still afraid of another war. The messages from politicians are not promising. “The leader of the Serb part of Bosnia says Bosnia Herzegovina should not exist. It’s his dream it will join Serbia one day. “We are exposed to statements saying the genocide did not happen. Many Serbs consider Mladic a victim of an international plot. “What Mladic wanted to do by killing all of these people has been achieved. “There are whole regions that people left because Mladic burned down the villages. Very few places are a multi-ethnic mix of Serbs and Bosniaks. I fear this judgment will not change anything. We should not be euphoric; it is not a victory.
“The only victory is I am still alive and I have a wife and child. My daughter has my mother’s name and is now doing well at law school in Sarajevo.
“It is 22 years later and I am still trying to recover from the trauma.”
Hasan is still angry at the international community for failing to intervene as the ethnic cleansing unfolded.
He said: “Until two years ago I was still looking for my mother’s remains. That’s why I’ve never been able to leave Bosnia.
“I would urge Europe not to forget about us, not to allow the fire to spread all over again.”
It is clear Mladic’s appalling legacy lives on. But at last the mothers of Srebrenica know the monster who took their loved ones’ lives will finish his own behind bars.
We are still afraid of another war. The messages are not promising HASAN NUHANOVIC