The author is the Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro news manager at Anadolu.

ISTANBUL

Three decades after Europe's worst atrocity since World War II, Srebrenica remains a powerful symbol of how geopolitical interests and selective justice reshaped the Balkans’ trajectory. As civilians in Gaza continue to suffer and The Hague prepares to indict Israeli leaders, the West's enduring silence over Srebrenica and the policies that ignited the Yugoslav wars still cast a long shadow over Europe. Thirty years after the massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, many questions remain unanswered about the West's role in Yugoslavia's disintegration and the selective justice that followed.

This year, Bosnia will bury seven more victims, aged 19 to 67, including a woman, at the Potocari Memorial Cemetery on July 11. Each year, newly identified victims are laid to rest on the anniversary of the genocide. In Tuzla, the Identification Project holds the remains of nine more identified victims awaiting family consent for burial, while DNA testing has identified 45 additional victims whose burials are pending due to incomplete remains and pending family confirmation.

How the West shaped the conflict

In the early 1990s, Western policy accelerated the breakup of Yugoslavia, fast-tracking Slovenia and Croatia into the EU and NATO with the backing of the Vatican and Western capitals. Although framed as democratic support, these moves were in reality driven by religious and cultural affinities, seeing Catholic Slovenia and Croatia as "natural" fits for post-Cold War Europe. Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina – a diverse republic with a significant Muslim population – was left exposed to competing interests, deepening ethnic and religious divisions.

Western interventions often deepened these rifts, reinforcing the perception – especially among local communities – of Muslims and Orthodox Christians as eternal rivals, leaving Bosniaks and Serbs in conflict while the promise of a stable, European future remained distant.

The Hague's selective justice

For decades, The Hague has been positioned as a hub for international justice, handling cases from Rwanda to Gaza. Yet in July 1995, Dutch troops under the UN flag abandoned Srebrenica’s “safe area,” allowing Bosnian Serb forces to massacre thousands. It was a stark example of Western double standards, in which human rights ideals were sacrificed for geopolitical calculations, betraying those they pledged to protect. Srebrenica's legacy is not just about the massacre but also about how international justice often depends on power and interest, deciding who receives protection and who is left to die.

Bernard-Henri Levy: From Bosnia to Ukraine

French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy was vocal during the Bosnian war, calling for military action against Serb forces and lobbying Western capitals to support Bosnia's independence. His activism extended beyond Bosnia, advocating for intervention in Syria in support of the PYD/YPG, and in Ukraine against Russia. While praised as a human rights defender, Levy's interventions also reflect how Western intellectuals shape conflicts under moral banners, leaving behind unresolved legacies.

What did we learn?

The West offered Slovenia and Croatia a clear path to integration. Bosnia and Serbia received no such offer. Serbia saw this dynamic early and navigated it cautiously after 90s mistakes, while Bosnia turned its back on its neighbors, placing its hopes on European integration – a goal that remains elusive three decades later. Today, Bosnia's foreign policy suggests it has learned little from its history. While still dreaming of becoming a Western society, it avoids formal dialogue with neighboring Serbia, ignoring the necessity of regional cooperation.

Bosnia needs a reset. A stable future requires facing reality, resolving disputes with neighbors through direct dialogue and compromise. Without such efforts, Bosnia will remain in a state of stagnation, continually exploited for Western strategic interests as Bosniaks and Serbs remain locked in unresolved disputes.

Conclusion: The lessons of Srebrenica

As Bosnia marks 30 years since Srebrenica, the region remains at a crossroads. Western double standards and the manipulation of religious divides continue to shape the Balkans, while European integration remains a distant promise. Bosnia's future will not be decided in Brussels or The Hague but in Sarajevo, through rebuilding trust, compromise, and direct dialogue with neighbors.

Türkiye's pragmatic approach offers a model worth considering as Bosnia seeks to move beyond illusions that have left it dependent and divided. Without confronting these realities, Bosnia will continue to commemorate its tragedies – without taking the necessary steps to prevent their recurrence.

Likewise, the world will commemorate Gaza's destruction without delivering justice, accountability, or meaningful solutions. As Israel's war in Gaza continues under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, global institutions have again shown their inability to prevent or stop mass civilian suffering, exposing how selective justice and geopolitical interests override the universal values these institutions claim to uphold.

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Anadolu's editorial policy.