Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide - the only recognized genocide in Europe since World War II.
Commemorative ceremonies will be held in a number of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe and around the world in memory of over 8,000 Bosniaks killed by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995, local and world news agencies reported, quoted by BTA.
The main ceremony will take place today at the Memorial Center in Potocari, eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the remains of seven newly identified victims will be buried, Radio Free Europe reported. The youngest victim was 19 years old and the oldest was 67, RFE/RL added.
The traditional "Peace March" from Nezuk to Srebrenica, which began on Tuesday, ended yesterday, on the eve of the anniversary, gathering thousands of participants from the region and abroad. The annual 100-kilometer march retraces the route taken by the men and boys killed in Srebrenica in reverse order.
The first official commemorative session and exhibition under a resolution adopted last year declaring July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide was held at the UN headquarters in New York, the AP reported. Similar events are planned in London, St. Louis, Vienna and other cities.
Several hundred bikers, participants in the Srebrenica Motomarathon from the Western Balkans and Europe, also set off for Potocari to mark the tragic anniversary. This is the 14th Srebrenica Motomarathon, which is held in memory of the victims, RFE/RL recalls. Participants come from Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Italy and other countries.
So far, more than 6,700 victims have been identified and laid to rest at the Potocari Memorial Center, AP recalls. About 1,000 people are still missing. The exhumation and identification process continues, and the victims' personal belongings are on permanent display to preserve the memory of the crime.
The organizers of the commemorations emphasize that the purpose of the commemoration is not only to honor the memory of the victims, but also to promote education, interethnic understanding and the fight against hatred. The events are dedicated to creating a world in which such tragedies will never happen again.
In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 8,300 Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) in the town of Srebrenica and the surrounding area. Most of the victims of the massacre were hunted down and summarily executed as they tried to escape through the forests. Their bodies were buried in hastily dug mass graves, then bulldozed and scattered among other grave sites to hide evidence of the crime.
The 1995 Srebrenica war crime has been determined to be genocide by both national and international courts. It was committed by members of the Army of Republika Srpska under the command of Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, who were sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, based in The Hague. At least 47 people were convicted of crimes in Srebrenica, receiving a total of more than 700 years in prison, the Bosnian news agency FENA reported.
Both Bosnian Serbs and neighboring Serbia still refuse to recognize that the Srebrenica massacre was genocide, despite rulings by two UN tribunals.
The Bosnian civil war (1992-1995) led to the deaths of more than 100,000 people and the displacement of millions.