ZUROFF: WAR CRIME WAS COMMITTED IN SREBRENICA, NOT GENOCIDE

BELGRADE, MAY 22 /SRNA/ - Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Efraim Zuroff has stated today that what occurred in Srebrenica was a war crime, not genocide.

Explaining the modern interpretation of the term genocide, Zuroff emphasized that every country that experiences a tragedy wants to label it as genocide, since, in his words, genocide is considered the gold standard of tragedy. “They want to garner sympathy, support, aid, so on. Let me give you an example - the case of Srebrenica. What is the definition of genocide? I judge it by three 'Is’: the first is intention, the second is implementation, and the third is implications,” said Zuroff. He claimed there were around 33,000 people in Srebrenica, 27,000 of whom went home unharmed without any wrongdoing. “The elderly, children, women – all those not involved in combat – were sent home. Is that genocide? No, that’s not genocide, it’s a crime, a war crime,” Zuroff emphasized.