EU Honours Victims of Srebrenica Genocide

Joint press conference by Federica Mogherini and Johannes Hanh in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Brussels, 18 Shawwal 1438/12 July 2017 (MINA) – The European Union commemorated Tuesday the 22nd anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica in which more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, mainly men and boys, were killed by the Bosnian Serb army in July 1995.

“Our hearts and our thoughts are with the victims and their surviving families and friends. Today, we honour the victims,” KUNA reported, quoting EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhoud policy Johannes Hahn in a joint statement.

“The values so dramatically violated 22 years ago – such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality – are now at the core of our engagement with Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens on the country’s EU integration path,” they said .

It noted that tomorrow, leaders of the Balkan region will meet in Trieste, Italy, and discuss together how the region can move forward on joint initiatives.

“The EU accession process is there to accompany the entire region towards reconciliation, justice and cooperation,” they added.

In addition to the killings in Srebrenicia, more than 20,000 Muslim civilians were expelled from the area. The massacre is said to be the worst mass murder committed in Europe since World War II. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)