The Srebrenica Massacre - Nova Srpska Politicka Misao

CHAPTER 9
U.K. Media Coverage of Srebrenica
Philip Hammond
I. How was the Bosnian Serb assault on Srebrenica reported at the
time?
(early July 1995) 1
Two features of the early U.K. press coverage of Srebrenica stand out:
First, although still not very full, there is occasionally more context and
background given than in most later reports, with the Serbian assault on
the town sometimes presented in the context of fighting between Bosnian
Serb and Muslim forces; second, there is a major preoccupation with
the implications of the fall of Srebrenica for the West’s authority, so that
at times the Serbs’ apparent contempt for Western policy seems to be the
more important concern, rather than the fate of the town’s Muslim population.
Both of these features of press reporting in early July 1995 are in contrast
to later treatment of the story, where the emphasis is unequivocally
on crimes committed at Srebrenica by the Bosnian Serbs, presented
as the result of premeditated, one-sided, ‘genocidal’ aggression.
(i) Context, background and explanation in early press reporting
Contrary to the picture of a one-sided, genocidal attack which
emerged later, some early reporting suggested that there was fighting between
Serb and Muslim forces around Srebrenica. On July 7, 1995 The
Independent reported “The heaviest fighting in three weeks…with Bosnian
Serbs firing rockets into the pocket, possibly in response to raids by
Muslim forces,” 2 while on July 11 The Guardian said that “Dutch ‘blue
helmets’ in Srebrenica find themselves shot by both sides.” 3
Given the general pattern of Western coverage of Bosnia—whereby
Serb attacks often appeared as unprovoked aggression because the
provocations went unreported—journalists and commentators sometimes
seemed puzzled at the Bosnian Serb decision to attack the town.
The Times argued that “The taking of Srebrenica is more a display of
Serb machismo than an act of strategic importance,” 4 while other reports
interpreted the move as an attempt to humiliate the West (see
below).
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