FAQ - THE OMARSKA MEMORIAL DEBATE

Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to ask questions by adding comments below and we will try to answer them.

Are you against Mittal Steel or the Omarska mine?

Absolutely not. We hope the mine is a success for Mittal, the local community and Bosnia as a whole. In fact, we owe Mittal our thanks for responding positively to camp survivors in the first pace and starting the project.

Are you in some way anti-Serb?

Wrong again. This is just about remembering what happened in 1992, and that is good for the local Serb community as much as anybody else. The blanket of denial that surrounds Omarska is a problem for younger Serbs especially, who do not agree with what was done in the name of their community.

Do you support the Bosnian participants in the project?

Absolutely. They are all good, respected people and they have our thanks for their work so far. The problems and failures with the so-called 'mediation project' are not their responsibility, as they have not really been in control of the process so far. We are in close contact with them and try to help where we can.

Is it realistic to let survivors own and run a memorial?

Yes it is, and this is the best way for Mittal Steel to avoid "owning" the problem of a sensitive commemoration project about events they are not to blame for. If survivors are given a reasonable site, legal responsibility and perhaps some support, then they become responsible for achieving agreement among survivors about what sort of memorial should be constructed.

Can't the local RS authorities block this?

On what basis? As long as the memorial does not seek to demonise all Serbs, and as long as it is sensitively and profesionally maintained, then it is up to Mittal as majority owners of the mine to allocate land as they see fit. Besides, the Office of the High Representative has established a precedent with the Srebrenica-Potocari memorial to ensure that vital monuments are not blocked by local Bosnian authorities. Mittal Steel should be able to count on the support of OHR in bringing this issue to a conclusion.

Can't the mine management block this?

As for the mine management, as long as they are not forced to become involved in commemorating the camp, they will presumably be satisified if they achieve their business objective of restarting full production as soon possible and generating some much needed revenue for the local area.

In the spirit of full disclosure and honesty, could you state what individuals/groups have organized this online petition? To whom will the petition be submitted?

The petition has been organised by Bosnian survivors of Omarska and families of the missing from the camp. We are deliberately not an organisation; we represent only a set of principles we believe must underpin a solution. It is our hope that the existing Bosnian organisations in Kozarac and Prijedor will be allowed to run the project, and we hope to support them in the future. The petition has informed what we feel was a constructive approach to Mittal Steel to help them understand the issues, and the signatures will be presented to them when we feel we have enough support for our preferred approach.

Are you the "Muslim Extremists" referred to in reports such as this from the BBC, and are you secretly trying to close down the entire mine for some reason?

Yes we are, apparently. Only ... we are not religious, nor are we all Muslims, and none of us are extreme (extremely polite, maybe). We are also proud of the many hundreds of Bosnians who have added their names to our petition without descending into verbal attacks or rudeness. Oh yes, and we have never suggested for one moment that the mine should be closed down, as Mittal Steel know. But hey - don't let the facts get in the way of a good story!

Useful Links

Na Bosanskom

Background

The Memorial Project

The Debate