Relatives of victims of the July 1995 genocide cry at the Potocari Memorial Cemetery ahead of commemoration to mark the 28th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide, in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 11, 2023 ( Samir Jordamovic - Anadolu Agency )
BELGRADE, Serbia
Marking the 28th anniversary of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday bid farewell to 30 more newly identified genocide victims at a memorial service.
Every year on July 11, newly identified victims of the genocide are laid to rest at a memorial cemetery in Potocari, eastern Bosnia.
Thousands of visitors from various countries attend the service.
The memorial center is the focal point of remembrance for friends and relatives of the victims, mostly men and boys, murdered by Bosnian Serb militias.
After this year’s funeral, the number of burials in the cemetery rose to 6,751.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, Turkish Minister for Family and Social Services Mahira Ozdemor Goktas, and many local politicians attend the ceremony.
Abazovic said that the Srebrenica genocide must not be denied.
“The genocide must never be denied. The truth sets you free, and I believe that when we all accept the truth, the region will really take a different path, the path of reconciliation and progress,” said Abazovic.
Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic in a video message said the genocide in Srebrenica is the biggest human tragedy in Europe after the Second World War.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel said: “We must never forget what happened in Srebrenica.”
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on social media said that Srebrenica's Genocide Remembrance Day holds in itself many unspeakable tragedies.
“A day when we remember the murder of 8,372 innocent people and countless crimes of rape and torture. It is also a reminder that the truth is not honored but denied by Serbia, itself an inhuman crime,” said Kurti.
Commemorations
Various events were held to commemorate the genocide in the capital Sarajevo and other cities of the region.
At the historic bridge in Mostar – an iconic multi-faith city – people gathered to jump without applause from the approximately 20-meter (65.6 feet) high bridge.
The participants also threw white lilies into the Neretva River, symbolizing the innocence of the genocide victims.
Croatia's capital Zagreb held a light projection of the iconic Srebrenica flower.
The Bosniak National Council also distributed Srebrenica flowers in Novi Pazar city to remember the victims.
The flower has a message – white signifies innocence, green signifies hope, and 11 petals stand for July 11, 1995.
Meanwhile, thousands of people participated in Mars Mira, an annual peace march.
Thousands of people from all over the world come to the Bosnian town every year and follow the same forest path used by the Bosniaks when they were fleeing genocide.
The campaign lasts three days, culminating in the participants' arrival in Potocari.
Srebrenica genocide
More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed when Bosnian Serb forces attacked the eastern town of Srebrenica in July 1995, despite the presence of Dutch peacekeeping troops.
The Serb forces were trying to wrest territory from Bosnian Muslims and Croats to form a state.
The UN Security Council had declared Srebrenica a "safe area" in the spring of 1993. However, troops led by Gen. Ratko Mladic, who was later found guilty of war crimes, and crimes against humanity and genocide, overran the UN zone.
Dutch troops failed to act as Serb forces occupied the area, killing some 2,000 men and boys on July 11 alone.
Around 15,000 residents of Srebrenica fled to the surrounding mountains, but Serb troops hunted down and killed 6,000 more people.
The bodies of victims have been found from 570 places across the country.
In 2007, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that genocide had been committed in Srebrenica.
On June 8, 2021, UN tribunal judges upheld in a second-instance trial a verdict sentencing Mladic to life in prison for the genocide, persecution, crimes against humanity, extermination and other war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
