The Netherlands is ashamed of failing to prevent the genocide of thousands of residents of the Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica in 1995, the country's Foreign Minister Kaspar Veldkamp said today, quoted by the national news agency ANP, BTA reported.
“I want to express my deepest regret again“, Veldkamp said at a memorial ceremony at the large Potocari cemetery in the area.
During the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the population of Srebrenica, located in the Bosnian Serb-controlled part of the country, consisted mainly of Muslims. Dutch peacekeepers were supposed to protect the area, but the Serbs took over the enclave thirty years ago. Under the command of their general Ratko Mladic, more than 8,000 people were killed.
Many of the victims are buried in Potocari. “Each stone depicts the cruel end of a unique life. The life of a grandfather, a father, a husband, a son, a mother. We are here today for them and for their loved ones. Their mothers, wives, brothers and sisters, children, friends“, Veldkamp said.
He said he realized that apologies could not change the bitter reality of loss. “We must look honestly at the past. We owe it to the victims to continue to honor them“, the Dutch foreign minister added.
Veldkamp warned against “the continued glorification of war criminals and the growing trend of denial of what happened here“. That's why, he says, it's crucial that the story of what happened in Srebrenica continues to be told. "Because the bitter reality is that atrocities like those in Srebrenica can happen again. We are not immune," Veldkamp added.