CONTROVERSIAL RESEARCH ADS INSULT TO INJURY

CONTROVERSIAL RESEARCH ADS INSULT TO INJURY

Mirsad Tokaca of the Research and Documentation Centre (Sarajevo) is nearing completion of his vital research into Bosnia-Herzegovina war losses. As of 15 December 2005, the list contained 93,837 names of civilians and soldiers, comprised of 63,687 Bosniaks (67.87%), 24,216 Serbs (25.81%), 5,057 Croats (5.39%) and 877 others (0.93%).

Here is a breakdown of Civilian vs. Military casualties as of December 15th, 2005:

Bosniaks:
30,514 (civilians) 30,173 (soldiers)

Bosnian Serbs:
1,978 (civilians) 21,399 (soldiers)

Bosnian Croats:
2,076 (civilians) 2,619 (soldiers) 362 (status unknown)

So, what is controversial about Mr. Tokaca's research?

In the case of Srebrenica Genocide, Mr. Tokaca classified all victims as 'soldiers.' He also insulted families of Srebrenica Genocide victims by calling them liars. When recently asked why he classified Srebrenica Genocide victims as "soldiers", Mr. Tokaca replied:

This is a problem for the state to solve. Back in 1995, immediately after Srebrenica, I drew the attention of certain officials to this problem. For many families, the fact that one of its members was filed as a soldier in the Army of Bosnia-Herzegovina was a matter of sheer survival. When these people were confronted with the choice between existence and a lie regarding the status of the victim, they opted for the lie. The arrival of a family from Srebrenica in Sarajevo immediately after the war precisely represented such survival. The only ones who could count on some kind of state support were members of the armed forces, or rather their families. The authorities themselves, however, have failed to confront the problem of civilian casualties. This is my answer to your question. This is nothing new, after all. Throughout the past sixty years, in this country you could claim the status of a soldier on the basis of just two people’s testimony. I chose not to become involved with this problem. [1]

Research and Documentation Center is expected to complete its task of compiling a register of all victims of the last war by March 2007.



[1] BH Dani (Sarajevo), December 23rd, 2005 - Genocide is not a matter of numbers.