Wolfgang Petritsch on Srebrenica Genocide anniversary: People are forgetting - and if you forget, you tend to repeat mistakes

Petritsch, who was instrumental in establishing the Memorial Center in 2000, reflected on the moment it all began, just four years after the end of the war.

“So we started a discussion with the Mothers of Srebrenica. And then it turned out they wanted to have a cemetery close to Srebrenica. And we agreed in the end to have it in Potocari. And there was a field — there was nothing here. So we acquired this field. And exactly today, 25 years ago, we laid the foundation stone, which is still there. This is where the flowers are being laid. And that was a ceremony where maybe 50, 70 people, not more, were present.”

Today, the Memorial Center has become a place of remembrance for thousands of genocide victims. For Petritsch, its symbolism is clear:

“Each and every white stone stands for a human being who was killed. And there are thousands of white stones.”

Yet he worries that remembrance alone is not enough to prevent history from repeating itself.

“People are forgetting. And if you forget something, you tend to repeat the mistakes of the past and the crimes of the past.”

Petritsch admits he is “skeptical” that memorialization will stop future atrocities but insists the message must stand:

“I’m skeptical inasmuch as I think we are not going to prevent another genocide by cultivating, so to speak, Srebrenica. But I think it is important to send a signal that this must not happen.”

Asked about the depopulation of Srebrenica and whether more could have been done to keep people in their hometowns, Petritsch was frank about the harsh reality:

“Who would like to live here where there is no industry, where there are no jobs and where the memory really is so heavy on the people? When I entered Srebrenica two or three days ago for a visit, I was really shocked what kind of atmosphere there is.”

Beyond memorialization, he believes the center should encourage broader remembrance of other innocent victims in the region — but without equating crimes:

“Not to be compared — this is a unique crime that was perpetrated in Srebrenica. But I think we need to, after 30 years, try and reach out to the erstwhile enemy and those who killed, but also to those survivors whose loved ones were killed and are from a different ethnic community.”

Petritsch also spoke about Bosnia’s political future and his conversations with current High Representative Christian Schmidt. He argued that the Office of the High Representative should evolve to better reflect Bosnia’s path towards the EU.

“Europe is the home of Bosnia Herzegovina — the European Union — and not OHR.”

Closing on whether the international community would abandon Bosnia again in the face of potential conflict, Petritsch was cautiously optimistic:

“Bosnia Herzegovina is surrounded basically by NATO countries... I can tell you there is not going to be a situation where Bosnia will be abandoned.”

The entire interview can be seen in the video above.

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