(Fwd) Srebrenica opera opens in Bosnia; Srebrenica's scar

Sat Oct 16 18:37:26 CEST 2004

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3747692.stm

Last Updated: Friday, 15 October, 2004, 16:51 GMT 17:51 UK

Srebrenica opera opens in Bosnia

An opera inspired by the 1995 massacre of Muslims by Bosnian Serbs at
Srebrenica is due to open in Sarajevo.

Almost 8,000 men and boys were executed in Srebrenica, which was a
UN-declared safe zone at the time.

The Bosnian National Opera will perform the opera - called
Srebrenicanke (Srebrenica women) - for the first time on Friday 
night.
The opera, which was composed by Ivan Cavlovic, will be dedicated to
the victims of terrorism across the world. Terrorism threat

The opening night's performance, at the National Theatre in Sarajevo,
will be performed in memory of the hundreds of people who died after
terrorists seized a school in the Russian town of Beslan last month.

Gojko Bjelac, who wrote the libretto and directs the opera, said: 
"The
opera is about the sufferings of the Srebrenica women but it also
tells a tale of the sufferings of all victims of terror in the entire
world."

The opera, consists of 11 short impressions of the in genocide in
Srebrenica, the Holocaust during World War II, and the threat of
modern terrorism.

Bjelac said: "These 11 impressions create the overall message of the
opera."

Documentary

He added that the Srebrenica tragedy had occupied him in a constant
quest to explain to the public "the magnitude of the tragedy that
happened there".

As well as the opera, Bjelac has also written two books and made a
documentary on the subject.

He said: "I feel obliged as an artist to deal with this tragedy. Art
should speak up against evil."

Gradimir Gojer, the director of the Bosnian National Theatre, said
proceeds from the opening night will be sent to the Beslan victims'
families in the Russian republic of North Ossetia.

Caption for accompanying illustration (not attached):
[Bosnian actors performing during the main rehearsal of the 
Srebrenica
Women opera at the Bosnian National Theatre] The opera will raise
money for the Beslan school shooting victims

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3745070.stm

Last Updated: Friday, 15 October, 2004, 08:15 GMT 09:15 UK

Srebrenica's scars slow to heal

A Bosnian Serb investigation into the Srebrenica massacre has
recognised that more than 7,000 Muslims were murdered when the town
was overrun by Serb forces in July 1995. It is the first time the
Bosnian Serbs have admitted the death toll.

The BBC's Nick Hawton reports on Srebrenica's efforts to recover and
the pain that lingers on.

Hatidza Mehmedovic, 53, serves me the Turkish coffee in her house on 
a
slope over-looking Srebrenica. Her eyes are intense. She speaks with 
a
controlled passion.

"I lost my husband, two sons and two brothers. Only the remains of 
one
of my brothers has so far been found.

"We hope one day we'll find them. That's what I live for. That is why
I came back here two years ago."

Hatidza's story is not unusual for the Muslim women of Srebrenica. 
She
is just one of the many victims who has to live with what happened
during those scorching days of the summer of 1995.

"As for this report into the massacre, it's not good enough," she
says.

"It will only be complete when we know the full truth - who killed my
sons? Who ordered their deaths? Who drove the digger that buried 
them?
Who was the driver?"

Conflicting stories

In the Serb village of Kravica a few kilometres away, Milan 
Zivanovic,
43, is distilling home-made plum brandy on the banks of a small
stream. He fought as a Serb soldier during the war.

"I don't know what happened at Srebrenica in July 1995. I wasn't
there. I don't know why so many people died. Maybe there was some
fighting among themselves".

But Milan believes the world does not know the full truth. Kravica
itself was attacked by Muslim forces in January 1993. Milan says 107
people were killed, most of them civilians.

"The media coverage of what happened at Srebrenica is unfair. Perhaps
in 10 or 20 years time, they will show that we Serbs were also 
victims
here."

Relations between Serbs and Muslims are cordial. There have been some
case of intimidation, but no serious cases of violence.

Milan says hello to Muslims he recognises from before the war and who
have now returned. They occasionally go for a drink. Reconciliation
takes time.

Coming back to life

These days, Srebrenica is in the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia, a
legacy of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995.

Muslims did not begin returning to the area until 2000, still fearful
for their safety. But since then, the rate of return has dramatically
increased.

According to the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, 2,701 Muslims have now
returned to the Srebrenica Municipality. Before the war, there were
27,000.

William Tarpai, from the UNHCR in Bosnia, says this area now has the
fastest rate of refugee returns anywhere in Bosnia.

"Returnees are coming back. This year alone, in the Srebrenica 
Municipality, Muslims have returned to 15 isolated, rural areas. No
one has lived in these places since the end of the war," he says.

International help

Money has come in from the international community. The United 
Nations
Development Programme is encouraging reconstruction. The Dutch
Government contributed 600,000 euros to help improve the water 
system.

Some businesses have been started, like the freezer plant which has
been built next to the old UN base.

But there are still major challenges ahead. Unemployment remains very
high, well over 50%.

There are reports that drug use among the young is on the increase.
Many young people want to leave, just like other places in Bosnia.

"I was a refugee in Sarajevo," says Hatidza. "But I returned here
because this is my town.

"These are my streets. I even prefer the rain here rather than in
Sarajevo."

Captions for accompanying illustrations (not attached):
1) [Srebrenica today] Srebrenica's mosque has been rebuilt and 2,700
Muslims returned 2) [Hatidza Mehmedovic] I lost my husband, two sons
and two brothers... we hope one day we'll find them Hatidza 
Mehmedovic
Srebrenica Muslim 3) [Milan Zivanovic, a Serb] Perhaps in 10 or 20
years time, they will show that we Serbs were also victims here Milan
Zivanovic Former Serb soldier 4) [destroyed houses in town centre] 
War
damage is still evident in the town centre