Jandroković on Srebrenica Anniversary: atrocities do not happen suddenly

On the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, a commemoration was held for more than eight thousand Bosnian Muslim men and boys killed by Serb forces in July of 1995. The remains of ten more identified victims will be buried at the Potočari Memorial Center on Saturday, July 11th, while more than 900 victims are still unaccounted for.

A day before the burial of ten more victims of the Srebrenica genocide on Saturday, a commemoration was held in honor of the victims in Zagreb's Lisinski Concert Hall. On hand for the commemoration was Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, who warned that historical atrocities do not happen suddenly, but when signs of violence, hatred and dehumanization are not recognized in time: "They too often develop gradually, when signs of violence, hatred and dehumanization are not recognized in time and when they are not responded to in a timely manner."

He concluded by saying that it is important to stop narratives that normalize hatred, devalue victims, and relativize or deny judicially established facts in time: "Peace cannot be built without truth, just as the future cannot be built with oblivion."

President Zoran Milanović's envoy, Melita Mulić, warned that responsibility for Srebrenica lies not only with the direct perpetrators, but also with international actors who turned a blind eye, ignored the crimes and did not confront the criminals: "This is perhaps the most painful question, a question that is repeated today in the face of scenes of intolerance and hatred, visible manipulations, aggressions, civil wars and conflicts of high or low intensity. We need to show that we are greater than oblivion, greater than the negligence of so-called world factors, that we are ultimately greater than our differences and disagreements, and work to strengthen the ethos of humanity, develop tolerance and solidarity, and fight against all exclusivity and dehumanization. This is the task of all of us."

Deputy Prime Minister and Veterans' Affairs Minister Tomo Medved called Srebrenica a "permanent wound" and a lesson in the consequences of the lack of humanity and the failure of international mechanisms: "Croatia supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path. We do so because we firmly believe that this path is the safest for the future of all its citizens and we truly want our neighboring and friendly Bosnia and Herzegovina to join us in the European family."

Croatian Parliament observed a minute of silence on Friday to pay tribute to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, in which 31 years ago Bosnian Serbs killed more than eight thousand Bosnian Muslim men and boys, after the fall of the enclave that was under UN protection and declared a safe zone by the UN Security Council.

Source: HRT