News in English     | 10.07.2020. 16:31 |

Džaferović thanks Petritsch for his contribution to preserve memory of genocide

FENA Hana Imamović

SARAJEVO, July 10 (FENA) - Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Šefik Džaferović sent a letter of thanks today to former High Representative in BiH Wolfgang Petritsch, who founded the Srebrenica-Potočari Foundation on May 10, 2001 as the first organization to oversee the cemetery and memorial in Potočari, which would later become the official institution of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the letter of thanks, Džaferović reminds that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, a former United Nations "safe area", noting that the crime committed by the Army and Police of Republika Srpska against the Bosniak people in the Srebrenica enclave is one of the darkest pages in European history.

The systematic murder of more than 8.000 people in July 1995 is the largest single crime on European soil since the end of World War II, Džaferović wrote in the letter.

He noted that the genocide in Srebrenica was committed only 45 years after the international community said "never again", and Srebrenica is an eternal warning primarily to Bosniak people who are still facing the consequences of genocide, but also to the entire international community, which with its passivity and indecision, during the war, encouraged criminals to implement their intentions into reality.

“Institutions of the international community brought only partial justice and satisfaction for the families of the victims. First of all, it refers to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, which qualified the crime in Srebrenica as genocide, establishing all relevant facts about the crime and judging its perpetrators,” said Džaferović.

Following the verdicts of The Hague Tribunal, the Office of the High Representative of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, headed by Wolfgang Petritsch between 1999 and 2002, played a special role in protecting the memory of Srebrenica genocide.

“We in Bosnia and Herzegovina remember and deeply appreciate your decision which permanently determined the land location in Potočari near Srebrenica for a cemetery and a memorial to those killed in the genocide,” said Džaferović.

The genocide in Srebrenica, as well as the entire campaign of mass crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, significantly realized the criminal plan to destroy the multiethnic Bosnian society, the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH reminded in the letter.

In the first decade after the war ended, the Office of the High Representative took significant steps to combat the consequences of genocide and prevent the achievement of the political goals of its perpetrators, which was extremely important for BiH, but also for restoring credibility to the international community when it comes to protecting peace and security.

"In that regard, your brave and decisive activities on the formation of the memorial complex in Potočari were of special importance. You contributed tremendously to preserving the memory of genocide victims and protecting the truth, showing that you are a true protector of fundamental civilization values," said Džaferović.

On that behalf, Chairman of the Presidency of BiH, Šefik Džaferović, expressed his sincere and deep gratitude for everything that Wolfgang Petritsch did to help preserve and remember the truth about Srebrenica and to prevent such a thing from ever happening again.

(FENA) A. B.

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