"Srebrenica was a horrendous war crime and it had to be uncovered"
- John Pomfret
About this Quote
John Pomfret's quote about Srebrenica talks to the significance of uncovering the reality about the war criminal offense that took place there. The Bosnian War of 1992-1995 was a dispute between Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats, and Bosnian Muslims. In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces attacked the town of Srebrenica, a United Nations-protected safe haven for Bosnian Muslims. The attack resulted in the massacre of over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim guys and boys. The atrocity was among the worst war criminal offenses of the 20th century and it was not until the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) began its examination in 1996 that the reality of what took place in Srebrenica was revealed. John Pomfret's quote talks to the value of revealing the truth about war criminal offenses, no matter how dreadful they might be. It is just through discovering the reality that justice can be served and the victims of such atrocities can be remembered.