STRASBOURG – European Parliament commemorated the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide yesterday. President Roberta Metsola delivered a speech to the plenary, while individual MEPs payed their tributes as well.
A number of MEPs, including Viola von Cramon, Tineke Strik, Paulo Rangel, Andreas Schieder, Klemen Grošelj, Terry Reintke and Thomas Waitz took a photo with “#NeverForegetSrebrenica” banners.
“On the 28th commemoration of Srebrenica, the European Parliament pays its respect to the victims of this horrific genocide. In Europe, there is no place for those denying or glorifying genocide and war crimes”, Greens/EFA MEP Tineke Strik wrote on Twitter.
Renew Europe group shared a quote of Klemen Grošelj, who said that “the denial of genocide is in itself a continuation of genocide and as such has no place in the EU”.
European People’s Party (EPP) group, meanwhile, shared a quote by MEP Paulo Rangel, who said that “we must go back to Bosnia, to Srebrenica, to learn that difficult and painful lesson that truth is not compatible with denial, that justice is not compatible with impunity, and that peace is not compatible with aggression.”
Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group account tweeted that “the annual EP report on BiH highlights opportunities for Bosnia and Herzegovina and regrets that the biggest obstacle on its way to the EU remains (Milorad) Dodik’s secessionist politics. Srebrenica genocide that we remember today reminds us that we must overcome ethnic divisions”.
In her speech to the plenary, President Roberta Metsola called the date of the massacres, 11 July, a day which will live in infamy. She reminded that it saw an ethnic cleansing campaign that saw nearly 30.000 people forcibly expelled and brutal murder of over 8.000 people, mostly Muslim men and boys, who had sought safety in the Srebrenica enclave.
“Atrocity so barbaric that they are almost unspeakable. And yet we must speak. We speak to remember the victims, we speak to warn the world of what has happened so that it may never happen again. The genocide of Srebrenica will forever haunt us”, Metsola said.
She added that, twenty eight years later, we are witnessing increasing genocide denial, more false narratives and more glorification of war criminals and it is a duty to speak out against it, to remind the world of a truth that cannot be denied.
“Last weekend, we marked 500 days since Russia launched its full-scale military invasion on independent and sovereign Ukraine. A war that has brought to light the cruelty of Putin’s regime and the return of war crimes and atrocities to our continent. The European Parliament will never turn a blind eye to war crimes, this is how we ensure that nothing like the Srebrenica massacre ever happens again. So on this solemn day, the European Parliament pays tribute to the victims of Srebrenica genocide and reiterates its solidarity with all the families of all the victims, many of whom are yet to be identified”, Metsola said.