It’s Srebrenica Memorial Week (5 -11 July), the 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.
A flag is flying over County Hall in Dorchester this week in memory of all those who died or suffered in the Srebrenica area in Eastern Bosnia 28 years ago, described by Kofi Annan as “The worst crime on European soil since the Second World War.”
Over 8,000 Bosnians, mainly Muslim men and boys were massacred because of their faith during the Bosnian war. The genocide at Srebrenica is the largest incidence of mass-murder in Europe since World War Two.
As a reminder, on 11 July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces, led by General Ratko Mladić overran and captured the town of Srebrenica which had been declared a UN Safe Area. In the days following, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were systematically murdered and buried in mass graves.
Thousands of women, children and the elderly were forcibly deported. Srebrenica was a culmination of a campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’ used by Bosnian Serb forces during the conflict. This was implemented to achieve the aim of a ‘Greater Serbia’, free from non-Serbs, Serbs being Orthodox Christians.
The theme for 2023 is ‘Together We Are One’ and the aim is to show that climates and cultures of hatred and extremism create the condition for genocides to occur, by dividing and breaking up communities.
This is also an opportunity and a reminder to focus on how coming together as one makes us stronger when it comes to addressing global challenges such as the collective effort we saw during the recent pandemic or the response of the international community in supporting Ukraine.
Cllr Val Pothecary, Chairman of Dorset Council, said:
“The massacre at Srebrenica was one of the most horrific events of the war in the former Balkan States. It remains the single largest mass murder in Europe since World War Two.
“The lessons from Srebrenica are that hatred and intolerance can flourish if left unchallenged. Which underlines the importance of why we must never forget about the tragic events that took place, and remain resolute in our commitment to tackling hatred, intolerance, prejudice, and discrimination in all forms.
“The theme also reminds us of the importance of remaining vigilant against the forces of hatred that seeks to “other” groups as being negatively different, by using the first steps of Gregory Stanton’s ten stages to genocide model. We therefore remember and honour the memory of the victims and pledge to work towards building a more cohesive, stronger, and safer society. Free from hatred, discrimination, and prejudice.
“Dorset is seen as a rural idyll but within that idyll are those of other races and cultures whose lives are not of the easiest and who still live on the fringes of our society. Dorset Council and our residents must continue to work to ensure our diverse society is an inclusive and happy one.
“Now is more important than ever for us to come together – no matter of our background – to celebrate diversity and challenging stereotyping, scapegoating, hate speech.”
My Dad visited the site back in 2006 when he was on a 6 month deployment to Sarajevo and worked along European and NATO forces. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me saying it left an lasting impression like few things can. There still is and always will be the presence of the men and young lads who were lost. War is and never can be the answer, we should always chase war criminals to ends of the earth if needs be.