16/04/1993 | Voices from the Drina

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🧵 The UN Security Council has adopted Resolution 819, which designates Srebrenica a safe area.

The UN is deeply alarmed at the rapid deterioration of the situation in Srebrenica and its surrounding areas, as a result of the continued deliberate armed attacks and shelling of the innocent civilian population by Bosnian Serb paramilitary units.

The UN reaffirms that any taking or acquisition of territory by the threat or use of force, including through the practice of “ethnic cleansing”, is unlawful and unacceptable.

Res 819 condemns / rejects the deliberate actions of the Bosnian Serb party to force the evacuation of the civilian population of Srebrenica and its surrounding areas as well as from parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of its overall abhorrent campaign of “ethnic cleansing”.

The people in Srebrenica are delighted with Resolution 819. The consensus is that the war is over. People in Srebrenica already seem more relaxed. We can live our lives without the constant fear of being shelled or getting killed.

People in Srebrenica are delighted with Resolution 819. We think this means the war is over for us and soon it will be over in the rest of the country as well. People are shouting “we are saved”.

I feel happy about the UN’s Resolution 819. We’re under the protection of the UN now. I feel relaxed. I think we should rename Marshall Tito Street as Philippe Morillon Street.

The UN has declared Srebrenica a “safe area”. But we’re not a “protected area”. I’ve been told that there’s a huge difference between these two phrases. A “protected area” would require a large number of UNPROFOR soldiers.

People in Srebrenica seem to have perked up a bit, following the UN’s adoption of Resolution 819. Everyone thinks the war is over.

It seemed as if the people are happy and outdoors in the streets, as if they’re celebrating the UN declaration. People believe this is it; the war is over. With whomever I talk to, they say the situation will be good if it remains as it is; it’ll be good as long as there is no more killing.