The EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Englargement Oliver Varhelyi have spoken out on the anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre at the hands of Bosnian Serbs in 1995 and called it a failure and shame of Europe.
The massacre took place over the course of around a month in July 1995. Serbs killed more than 8000 Bosniak men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica. As well as being considered a massacre, it is also known as a genocide and an act of ethnic cleansing.
“Europe has not forgotten what happened in Srebrenica and our responsibility for not being able to prevent and stop the genocide. In Srebrenica, Europe failed and we have faced our shame”, the two diplomats said in a statement.
They said that the Russian war on Ukraine brings back “vivid memories of those witnessed in the war in the Western Balkans in the 1990s.”
Other wars in the region at that time include the Kosovo war which saw Serbs commit numerous massacres against ethnic Albanians and displacing more than 1 million, with over 1000 still missing today. It ended with NATO bombing of Serbia and the eventual independence of Kosovo, which Serbia does still not recognise.
“As we see the security and stability of Europe and the international rules-based order profoundly shaken, we are reminded of the need to stand up to defend peace, human dignity and universal values. Europe has not forgotten what happened in Srebrenica and our own responsibility for not being able to prevent and to stop the genocide. In Srebrenica, Europe failed and we are faced with our shame,” their statement continues.
They added that there is no place in Europe for genocide denial, revisionism, and the glorification of war criminals. For Bosnia to continue on its EU path, they added that peace, reconciliation, mutual understanding and dialogue should be top of the agenda.
Meanwhile, on Thursday (7 July), the Albanian government finally passed a resolution on the genocide after one tabled by the opposition failed earlier this year.
“Albania’s position that the denial of the genocide committed against the Bosnian population of Srebrenica by the Bosnian Serb forces constitutes a violation of international law and promotes the phenomenon of impunity for war crimes and the violation of the dignity of more than 8,000 civilians who were massacred in Srebrenica,” the resolution states.
It also condemns the “glorification of the authors, creators and supporters of this genocide”, as well as the murders and rapes of ethnic Albanians by Serbian forces during the Kosovo war.
Democratic MPs attempted to include amendments condemning Serbia’s actions in Kosovo as a genocide, but the motion was rejected by the Socialist majority.
