The remains of 136 Srebrenica genocide victims were readied for burial in the Bosnian town where in 1995 Europe experienced its worst massacre since World War II. Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini is planned to represent the European Union at Saturday’s commemorations. Some 15,000 Srebrenica men fled into the surrounding mountains but Serb troops hunted down and slaughtered 6,000 of them in the forests.
Advertisement
Each year, bodies that have been newly found and identified from mass graves are laid to rest at the memorial site. Event organizers plan to host 50,000 observers at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center and Cemetery.
Bosnian Serbs deny the killings were “genocide” and their leader, Milorad Dodik, called last weekend the number of victims a “lie”. He said he wanted to bow his head before the victims of the “horrible crime”.
Luxembourg MPs to mark 20 years since the Srebrenica massacre on Thursday voted to officially recognise the killings as genocide, while at the same time encouraging authorities in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to pursue efforts of reconciliation.
And King said, in 1995 he was the only Republican to support Clinton’s policies in Bosnia – and 11 years later the sole Republican in the delegation to Bosnia for its first elections in September 2006.
On Wednesday, Serbia-allied Russian Federation vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have recognized the massacre as a formal “genocide”. The Serbs, who wanted to remain in the Serb-led Yugoslavia, fought against the secession of Bosnia and Croatia from the ex- federation. They are linked by a common government, parliament and three-member presidency where each group holds a veto.
Advertisement
“We (Serbia) have shown where we stand. And that is what’s so worrisome”, said Dusan Masic, a journalist who initiated the commemoration event.
