Genocide: Here’s the list of stages

Srebrenica: Genocide is a crime which is committed by a large number of people against a particular section of people. There are stages of genocide and at every stage, it can be prevented.

According to the report published in Al Jazeera, in July 1995, Serb forces killed over 8000 Bosniak Muslims.

As per genocide scholar Gregory H Stanton, the crime takes place in 10 stages. His study has become ’10 stages of genocide’ theory.

Bosnia has marked the 24th anniversary of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide by burying 33 newly identified victims in a collective funeral pic.twitter.com/KAOEd3YbZN

— TRT World (@trtworld) July 11, 2019

Here’s the list of Stanton’s 10 stages and Halilovic’s eleventh and how these stages fit in case of Srebrenica Genocide as reported by Al Jazeera

1. Classification, Symbolization, Discrimination
   First, the classification was done to create a notion of ‘us and them’.
2. Dehumanization
   An image was created that Islam is the threat to Serbian hegemonist project
3. Organization
   A plan was made to completely destroy Muslims from Bosnia.
4. Polarization
   Media of both Serbian and Bosnian Serb broadcasted content to polarize the people.
5. Preparation
   Weapons were supplied to every Serbian house. Even military helicopters were used for this purpose.
6. Persecution
   Starting with intellectual and influential Bosniaks, many others were persecuted and around 50000 women and girl were raped.
7. Extermination
   Later, General Ratko Mladic entered Srebrenica. In six days, over 8000 persons were killed. Residents tried to escape to UN-Protected enclave however, UN Peacekeeping force was unable to protect them.
8. Denial
   After the massacre, Serb forces spread the parts of dead bodies to various locations. Bones were buried 20 km apart.
9. Triumphalism
   Criminals who are convicted are considered heroes.