The Srebrenica massacre in July 1995 was the single greatest atrocity on European soil since the Second World War, during which Bosnian Serb forces systematically massacred more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in a crime judged by the International Court of Justice at The Hague to be an act of genocide. As we approach the 20th anniversary of Srebrenica, the terrible events of the past continue to haunt us – not just through the ongoing discovery of mass grave sites in Tomasica and elsewhere, but also through the pernicious denials of ethnic cleansing and genocide, and the rise of revisionist history that has taken hold in parts of the Balkans.

How do we communicate and remember contested political histories, particularly those involving extreme violence? How do we commemorate these tragic events without first achieving agreement on the narratives of what took place? How do we arrive at 'reconciliation' when the 'truth' itself is so polarising?

This event seeks to address these issues surrounding remembrance of Srebrenica, by discussing survivor testimonies, the painstaking process of establishing facts and truth, and the contesting of genocide denial and revisionist history.

PANEL

Dr Akil N Awan, Lecturer in Political Violence and Terrorism, Department of History, Royal Holloway, University of London.
Adam Boys, Director of International Programs, International Committee for Missing Persons (ICMP).
Muhamed Durakovic, Srebrenica survivor, and Head of Libya programme at the ICMP.
Dr. Eric Gordy, Senior Lecturer in Politics of Southeast Europe at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) of University College London.

Date/Time: 4 June 2014 6:30pm

Location: Room 261, Senate House, Malet St, London WC1E 7HU

Map/Directions: http://senatehouselibrary.ac.uk/visiting-the-library/how-to-find-us/

Generously supported by the Humanities & Arts Research Centre (HARC) at Royal Holloway, University of London, and Remembering Srebrenica.