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Grave Evidence of Genocide:
Using Forensic Palynology to Dig Up the Truth Behind the Srebrenica Massacre
In July of 1995, over 8,000 Muslim men, ranging from teenagers to the elderly, were brutally murdered in the Srebrenica massacre, one of the most horrific events in recent history. After their executions the victims were buried in mass graves, only to be dug up and relocated to smaller graves 3 months later in an attempt to conceal evidence that would link the murders to Bosnian-Serb troops. From 1997 to 2002 an intensive forensic investigation involving the exhumation of over 20 mass graves took place in an attempt to link the original burial sites to the various secondary burial sites. One of the main forensic techniques used to link the burial sites and bring justice to this tragedy was palynology, the study of pollen and spores.
A Country of Conflict and Controversy
Following the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, the Kingdom of Serhs, Croates, and Slovenes was formed in 1918. In 1929, the country was renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, but it soon fell apart during World War II. After WWII Yugoslavia reunited as a communist state in Eastern Europe under the rule of Josip Broz Tito and consisted of six constituent republics: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Yugoslavia maintained peace during the 40 years Tito ruled, but when he died in 1980 following the Cold War, nationalist and separatist ideologies began to arise and disrupt tranquility within lhe country (Center for Balkan Development [CBD], 1996).
Slobodan Milosevic, formerly Serbia's Communist Parry leader, strategically adhered to nationalism and became the ruler of Serbia and the most authoritative dignitary in Yugoslavia by 1989. However, his forceful attempts to take over the federal government of Yugoslavia and unjust decisions he made out of self-interest drove Croatia and Slovenia to seek independence in 1991, and Bosnia-Herzegovina followed in 1992 (CBD, 1996).
Even though the European community and the United States recognized Bosnia as an independent country, the Muslim, Serb, and Croat groups within Bosnia all began to fight for territory. Although many of the Muslims in Bosnia originally thought the Yugoslav National Army (YNA) would protect them, the fourth largest army in Europe was...