"Pokret Majki Enklava Srebrenica i Žepa"
"The Mother's Action of the Srebrenica
Žepa Enclave"
"Savez logoraša Bosne i Hercegovine"
"The
Union of Bosnia-Hercegovina Concentration Camp Detainees"
Ms. Diana Wallis
Vice-President of the European
Parliament
Rue Wiertz 60,
Brussels,
Dear Ms. Vice-President,
By endorsing the initiative of H.E. Mustafa Cerić, Grand Mufti of Bosnia, that
the 11th of July be proclaimed as the European Commemorative Day,
We, the victims of the Srebrenica Genocide on the 11th of July, 1995, would like
to bring to the attention of the European Parliament the following:
Recognizing the importance of the European Parliament resolution on Srebrenica
and adopting a resolution in the EU Parliament to declare July 11th Day of
Mourning and Remembrance for the innocent victims of Genocide
Based on the core principles of the EU Parliament resolution on Srebrenica, adopted by the Parliament on 7 July, 2005- Strasbourg, it is imperative we act now to institutionalize the recognition of the human sufferings and repeated mistakes in order to prevent Genocides in the future.
Declaring July 11th day of mourning and remembrance for European Nations will provide constant reminder of and against threat of Genocide and reaffirm the commitment stated in the EU Parliament resolution on Srebrenica.
Guided by:
EU Parliament resolution on Srebrenica, adopted on 7 July, 2005- Strasbourg,
affirmed:
1. continuous support of the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) for the countries of the western Balkans initiated by the EU in 1999 in an effort to promote democratization, justice, reconciliation and peace in the region,
2. having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas, on 11 July 1995, the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica, which was proclaimed a safe area by the UN Security Council resolution of 16 April 1993, fell to the Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladić and under the direction of the then president of the Republika Srpska, Radovan Karadžić,
B. whereas, during several days of carnage after the fall of Srebrenica, more than 8 000 Muslim men and boys, who had sought safety in this area under the protection of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), were summarily executed by Bosnian Serb forces commanded by General Mladić and by paramilitary units, including Serbian irregular police units which had entered Bosnian territory from Serbia,
C. whereas this tragedy, declared an act of genocide by the ICTY, took place in a UN-proclaimed safe haven, and therefore stands as a symbol of the impotence of the international community to intervene in the conflict and protect the innocent,
D. having regard to the multiple violations of the Geneva Convention perpetrated by Bosnian Serb troops against Srebrenica's Muslim civilians, including deportations of thousands of women, children and elderly and the rape of a large number of women,
E. whereas in spite of the enormous efforts made to date to discover and exhume mass and individual graves and identify the bodies of the victims, the searches conducted until now do not offer a complete reconstruction of the events in and around Srebrenica,
F. whereas there cannot be real peace without justice, and full and unrestricted cooperation with the ICTY remains a basic requirement for further continuation of the process of integration into the EU for the countries of the Western Balkans,
G. whereas General Radislav Krstić of the Bosnian Serb army is the first person found guilty by the ICTY of aiding and abetting the Srebrenica genocide, but the most prominently indicted person, Ratko Mladić, is still at large thirteen years after the tragic events,
H. whereas the shortfalls in the EU decision-making mechanisms and the lack of a genuine common foreign and security policy also played a negative role in the determination of the events,
Also guided by the:
The European Council resolution on Srebrenica adopted by the Parliament on 7
July, 2005-Strasbourg:
A. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the Srebrenica massacre; commemorates and honors the victims of the atrocities; expresses its condolences to and solidarity with the families of the victims, many of whom are living without final confirmation of the fate of their fathers, sons, husbands or brothers; recognizes that this continuing pain is aggravated by the failure to bring those responsible for these acts to justice;
B. Calls on the Council and Commission to pay adequate remembrance to the tenth anniversary of the Srebrenica-Potočari act of genocide, stressing that this unbearable shame in Europe should be considered forever the last massacre carried out in the name of ethnic ideology; states that it will do everything in its power to prevent such acts of monstrous barbarism from happening in Europe ever again;
C. Calls on the Republika Srpska and on the Republic of Serbia to take urgent action in order to locate Mladić and bring him to justice; considers the apparent popular support enjoyed by Mladić in some parts of the region to be an insult to the memory of the victims and a major obstacle to reconciliation;
D. Expresses its wholehearted support for the valuable and difficult work of the ICTY, and reiterates that full cooperation with the Tribunal is a precondition for closer cooperation with the EU; emphasizes that all countries in the region should meet their obligations to cooperate fully with the ICTY at all times; regards the capture, transfer and condemnation of those guilty of war crimes as a minimum act of recognition for the thousands of war crimes victims in Srebrenica and elsewhere;
E. Stresses the importance of securing peace and stability in the western Balkans and the role that full implementation of the Thessaloniki agenda plays in achieving the objectives of the stabilization and association process; emphasises that full and unrestricted cooperation with the ICTY remains an essential requirement for further continuation of the process of integration with the EU;
F. Recalls that the UN peacekeeping mandate and force failed to protect the assigned safe areas; calls on the UN and the relevant international institutions to put into practice the lessons learned from this failure and to be truly prepared for future peacekeeping missions;
G. Regrets deeply that the Serbian Parliament failed to adopt a draft resolution recognizing and formally condemning the Srebrenica massacre and giving a sign of willingness to cope with the past and contribute to reconciliation and the peaceful resolution of the problems of the region;
H. Expresses its sincere preoccupation in regard to the still considerable part of Serbian public opinion which does not recognize war crimes against Muslim civilians; strongly encourages the Serbian Government to take action to confront the nation with its past and curb the hero-worship of indicted war criminals;
I. Praises the work and the commitment of all those who during these years have never stopped searching for the truth, and calls on the Council, the Commission and the Member States to provide them with the necessary means to continue their work, inter alia, by helping speed up the very costly process of identifying the victims;
J. Regrets the fact that the conditions for the return of refugees and internally displaced people to the region have still to be fully met;
K. Reaffirms the commitment of the European Union to assisting the applicant and potential applicant countries of the Balkans in their preparation for membership, and calls for adequate instruments and funding in this regard during the next financial perspective that match the ambitions of the Union and the legitimate expectations of the countries of the region;
L. Stresses that the lessons learned from Srebrenica and the wars in former Yugoslavia must serve as the basis for a strengthening of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy;
M. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its entities, and the governments and parliaments of the countries of the western Balkans.
Resolving from the above resolutions, it is essential for the President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, the governments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its entities, and the governments and parliaments of the countries of the western Balkans for full adoption and recognition of July 11th as the Day of Mourning and Remembrance of the innocent victims of Genocide.
This act will affirm European Commitment to:
- Recognition and Prevention of Genocide
- Commitment to regional stabilization, democratization and internal security
- To give the adequate remembrance to the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide
and the Holocaust which obliged us and we failed to keep the historic promise of
"Never Again"
- To reaffirm that the Srebrenica genocide should be considered forever the last
massacre carried out in their name of ethnic ideology in Europe.
May grieve become hope,
May pain become peace,
May mother's tears become prayer,
That genocide will never happen again to no one and nowhere.
"Pokret Majki Enklava Srebrenica i Žepa"
"The Mother's Action of the Srebrenica
Žepa Enclave"
______________________________________
Munira Subašić
Savez logoraša Bosne i Hercegovine"
"The
Union of Bosnia-Hercegovina Concentration Camp Detainees"
Murat Tahirović