Zagreb - The Croatian Parliament on Friday marked the 22nd anniversary of genocide committed at Srebrenica, eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković stressing that the Srebrenica tragedy would continue until the last victim was identified.
"The war crimes committed at Srebrenica could have been predicted and those who could have prevented them did not do so. That's the darkest side of that story and a great sin on the part of the international community," Jandroković said.
"Although some of those responsible have been indicted by the Hague tribunal, many of the perpetrators are still at large. It is up to us all to continue supporting efforts to bring war criminals to justice and insisting on tracing all those still listed as missing. We owe that to the victims and their families," the parliament speaker said.
In July 1995, an estimated 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were massacred at Srebrenica, a UN-designated safe area at the time, by Bosnian Serb forces under Ratko Mladic, the single biggest atrocity committed in Europe since the end of the Second World War. Next week, 70 newly-identified persons, including seven minors, will be laid to rest alongside 6,504 genocide victims already buried at the Potocari Memorial Cemetery outside Srebrenica.
The Croatian Parliament today also honours the mothers of Srebrenica who have been fighting for all these years to find their loved ones, bring the truth about Srebrenica closer to the world and preserve the memory of all the victims, Jandroković said.
"Although genocide was committed in Srebrenica, there are those that deny it. That's why we must all be united in determining the truth, this must be our ongoing individual and collective task. Our individual and collective task must be to preserve the memory, because oblivion and indifference are the biggest enemies. Our responsibility must also be to fight for justice, to respect the dignity and rights of every person and to pass these values on to future generations. Today we are gathered here united by the same desire to say to any crime: Never more!" Jandroković said.
The Parliament session was attended, among others, by the Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić, the head of the Bosniak National Minority Council of Zagreb, Harun Omerbasic, and representatives of the diplomatic corps and religious communities.