Slobodna Bosna, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina, 7/14/96
Ibran Mustafic, representative in Bosnian and Federal Parliaments,
founder of SDA in Srebrenica and the captive of the Serb Army after
the fall of this town, talks about the events about which he had
unsuccessfully tried to speak in the Bosnian Parliament.
Who are the people you accuse and the people you don't trust?
Scenario for the betrayal of Srebrenica was consciously prepared.
Unfortunately, the Bosnian presidency and the Army command were
involved in this business; if you want the names, figure it out
yourself. I understood the situation in Srebrenica and, you can trust
me on this, had I not been prevented by a group of criminals, many more
inhabitants of Srebrenica would be alive today. Had I received an
order to attack the Serb army from the demilitarized zone, I would have
rejected to carry out that order without thinking and would have asked
the person who had issued that order to bring his family to Srebrenica so
that I can give him a gun and let him stage attacks from the
demilitarized zone. I knew that such shameful, calculated moves were
leading my people to a catastrophe. The orders came from Sarajevo
and Kakanj.
What were the consequences of the attacks staged from the
demilitarized zone for the inhabitants of Srebrenica?
That was a conscious giving of a pretext to the Serb forces to attack
the demilitarized zone.
Who in Srebrenica accepted to carry out those orders?
Those individuals who, in the Summer of 1995, without a scratch left
Srebrenica (...). It is well known that that team managed to get out
and take with along the elderly, children and horses. I can only thank
God, that a number of honest people and patriots managed to get out
with them. (...) According to our custom when someone finishes the
foundations for a house, an animal must be slaughtered on top of them.
It seems that Srebrenica was a sacrificial lamb for the foundation of
this state.
Do you think that the events would have been different had Srebrenica
truly be demilitarized?
Had some people then, or later, in 1994 and 1995 accepted to evacuate
the people and to concede the territory, that would have represented
the public division of Bosnia. It seems that they want to divide this
state in a secret, perfidious way.
Who are you talking about?
About the official authorities.
Why wasn't then, as you suggest, Srebrenica surrendered in 1993? What
was the goal of such "games" with Srebrenica?
The basic goal of that game was the illusionary freedom of Sarajevo
and the Bihac region. What hurts the most is the attitude towards the
survivors from the Drina valley who were in Srebrenica in July 1995.
Present attitude of the authorities towards those people is enough to
convince me that the authorities expected that the number of the
survivors would be smaller; it seems that the number of survivors is
too
high for their calculations. They made me say this: "It seems you are
afraid of living Srebrenica inhabitants."
What makes you say that?
In the Bosnian Parliament, I initiated the formation of a special
committee whose task would be to search for the survivors from the
enclave
(I claim that there are survivors!). There are certainly quite a few
survivors from Srebrenica. I am convinced that at least someone out of
those
men who were separated in Potocari, among whom I was, must have
survived, if I have survived. Otherwise, they wouldn't have released
me
as a witness. Secondly, when the column which was trying to get out of
Srebrenica was cut in half, the privileged team, which I mentioned
earlier and which had a permission to get out of the enclave, simply
continued and kept throwing fliers behind them; the majority of the
people was so confused that they simply surrendered in huge numbers. I
personally believe that the majority surrendered alive.
Who was throwing fliers, and what was on those fliers?
They left behind them signs saying that the terrain was mined in order
to confuse the people who had been following them as much as
possible. The column was cut, people were out of their minds. I talked
to a lot of people who came from Srebrenica without injuries and
didn't belong to that team; when they told me about what happened on
the way, I was outraged. I cannot even think about that, let alone
speak; these things are horrible.
Do you think there is no will to find those people?
The fact that in the Bosnian Parliament no one has asked me about that
is enough to demonstrate that no one cares about that.
You suggested something else in the Parliament.
I suggested that a special fund be formed in order to assist the
people who have survived that catastrophe. Unfortunately, when I spoke
about that, prime minister Muratovic had left the hall, as if he had
had a premonition that he shouldn't hear that. I think that a lot of
money has
been collected for Srebrenica and is flowing into the Federal,
cantonal and other budgets. I believe that the authorities, from
cantonal over
Federal to republican, have benefited much more from those funds than
the people for whose use the funds had been supposedly
earmarked. I've heard that the Srebrenica authorities had received
more that DM 2 million a few months ago. How are they using those
funds, I don't know.
Therefore, this state hasn't fulfilled its obligations towards the
refugees from Srebrenica?
After all, taking into account the local situation, we have to ask
ourselves whether this is a state after all. Take Srebrenica for
example. No
one from Srebrenica has been arrested in this state. And I claim that
a good number of people from Srebrenica should have been arrested
by now. They are still showing off, though.
What kind of crimes are you talking about?
The authorities in Srebrenica were not set up in accordance with the
Constitution; it was private matter of a group of individuals. One
could
write pages and pages about looting, murders, terror, pressures,
maltreatment and other events in Srebrenica.(...) In Srebrenica, it
was
always possible to buy at the market anything one might have wanted.
Hardly anything was lacking. Still the only source of goods was
humanitarian aid. Since not one commercial convoy had ever reached
Srebrenica. Some people established contacts across the frontline,
but as soon as the official authorities heard about that, that someone
had managed to buy something at a lower price, they would intervene
immediately, since they wanted to be the only source for supplies and
hold a monopoly in Srebrenica.
You were the victim of two assassination attempts.
Yes, I was. The first attempt on my life was made on may 25, 1993,
when someone fired a mortar shell from 20 meters away at a room in
which I slept at the time. That shell destroyed the room, but I, thank
God, wasn't hurt. The second attempt occured on May 19 1995. I was
with the former Srebrenica police commander, Hamed Halilovic. He died
in that assassination while I received serious injuries. A whole
frame was fired at me. When the assassins realized that I was still
alive, they fired a bullet in my head from point blank range. I was
severely
wounded and consider that to be a double attempt at my life.
Who were the attackers?
The Srebrenica police commander at the time, Hakija Mehuljic, should
know. I can say that the people from the top of Srebrenica authorities
were involved in that assassination(...). That team which was in
Srebrenica gathered around it only uneducated people. They killed
"brains"
to get rid of potential competition. As an example, I'll mention the
case of Nurif Rizvanovic. He came from Tuzla to Konjevic Polje in the
summer of 1992 with 450 soldiers; the soldiers were in uniforms, armed
and well trained. Rizvanovic, only because he was potential
competition to someone, was shamefully executed in the fall of 1992.
That is the reflection of everything that happened in Srebrenica and
around it.
At the beginning of our interview you mentioned that your goal is to
reveal the truth about Srebrenica.
Let me again mention that session of the Bosnian parliament. At that
session it was clear who was hiding the truth about Srebrenica. My
foremost task is to stay safe and secure in this state. If something
happens to me, the authorities will be responsible.(...)
How do you see the present situation and the solution for the people
from Srebrenica?
We are in this state 10th class citizens, left to fend for ourselves.
I hope that this people will recognize current political situation and
I think
that their situation can only improve after the elections. The
elections should bring some new people who can appreciate people and
human
values. The complete ruling team has failed at that test.
The Drina valley inhabitants are in the news because of another
problem - moving into Serb houses in the suburbs of Sarajevo. What
does the Dayton Agreement bring to them, in view of those events? Can
we hope for a return?
The official policy is consciously working for the division of
Bosnia-Hercegovina. I will repeat my words from the Parliament: I'm
convinced
that the Serbs would have signed the Dayton Agreement in 1991 or 1992,
without a single bullet. I don't think that people should be forced
against their will to live together (..). The only possibility for the
survival of the Muslim-Bosniak people is to return to the Drina. If we
accept
this persecution, I am convinced that my sons, who I hope to have one
day, will have to go farther. As far as moving into other people's
homes is concerned, Srebrenica people hadn't left tents behind them.
We need accommodations. Let them return our property and we will
return to Srebrenica. And we also want to be told what happened with
our missing men.
Are there any new developments regarding that?
Taking into account that a lot of lies are circulating in this state,
one can not trust anyone. I found out through some people who are
close to
the Croatian secret service who in their turn have contacts with Serb
secret service, that some 5,600 Srebrenica inhabitants are still alive
and held in different locations. Recently, Ms. Merhunisa Komarica has
told me that she had received some data from the Helsinki
Committee for Human Rights which mention 4,500 people. I am ready to
go anywhere and negotiate with anyone in order to win the release
of a single person from Srebrenica. I prefer two living Srebrenica
inhabitants to dead Radovan Karadzic. Finally, I would publicly state
that
some men are still alive. The fact that the precise number of missing
is still not known, demonstrates how much the state cares about those
people.
Do you wish to add something at the end of our conversation?
I read the latest issue of Ljiljan last night. I buy that magazine in
order to check what the current official policy is. Anyway, I read
that Mr.
Silajdzic [leader of the Party for Bosnia-Hercegovina, former Bosnian
prime minister] is gathering around himself corrupt officials. Among
others, I found my name. My greatest sin, as far as Ljiljan is
concerned, is that I got out of the Serb prisons alive. I should have
died. They
don't appreciate living people. They only appreciate the dead because
they cannot talk. They should consider two assassination attempts I
survived in Srebrenica. If they are true believers and if their
religion is not a mask (...). I am a Muslim and a believer. With my
faith, I joined the
people who do not spread fear in this state, do not support looting,
who support truth, who do not advocate violence and support the rule
of
law. I haven't heard of a Muslim country in the world in which Islam
stands for something bad. Only their [SDA] version of Islam advocates
crime, murders, lies, looting etc. If they want to advocate that sort
of Islam, let them go and present it somewhere else, not to this
people
who doesn't deserve to soil its faith.
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