War of Bosnia
Memorial day for victims of Srebrenica-AfD slat in the Bundestag
The wounds of the genocide of Muslims in Bosnia-Herzegovina are far from healed. 30 years later there is an international day of commemoration for the first time. AfD speeches trigger outrage in the Bundestag.
For the first time, an international day of commemoration was reminded of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in the Bosnia War 30 years ago. International guests came to a central commemoration in Potocari in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In a memorial debate in the Bundestag, speeches by AfD MPs triggered a scandal.
30 years ago, on July 11, 1995, Bosnian-Serbian troops killed more than 8,000 people, in the majority of Muslim men and male teenagers. International courts recognized the episode in the War of Bosnia as a genocide. It is considered the worst massacre in Europe since the end of World War II.
The commemoration in Bosnia-Herzegovina took place in the then headquarters of the Dutch Blauhelm troops. They are accused of not preventing the massacre.
A victim representative, the president of the association mothers of Srebrenica, Munira Subasic, wished those who voted against the Memorial Day to “continue to live in the dark”. The UN General Assembly had decided on the International Memorial Day in May 2024, including Serbia, China, Russia and Hungary.
Identification of victims is still running
In the cemetery opposite the former headquarters, 6,765 of the 8,372 Bosniac victims of the massacre are located. The identification of victims is still running. Seven killed, including two then 19-year-olds, were now buried in the cemetery. The region today belongs to the country part of Republika Srpska, which is mainly inhabited by ethnic Serbs.
High representative names failure of the West
The high representative of the International Community for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, admitted a failure of the western forces during the massacre: “Thank you for the invitation to us, those of us who did not act against Mladic and his accomplices in 1995,” he said.
The Bosnian-Serbian General Ratko Mladic was jointly responsible for the massacre. In 2017, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia (ICC). The German politician Schmidt (CSU) represents the international community in Bosnia-Herzegovina-also with legislative powers of attorney-based on the 1995 Peace Agreement.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte referred to the “connection (of the then massacre) with my country” in a memorial message as a Dutch. The heads of state of Italy, France and Turkey, Sergio Mattarella, Emmanuel Macron and Recep Tayyip Erdogan also reported by video message.
Serbia’s President Vucic is not there
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke in a statement of a “shadow that runs over generations” and emphasized the responsibility of Europe to recognize what has happened and reject denial and trivialization. EU Council President António Costa, who came to Potocari, also warned that there was no place for history revisionism or genocide denial. The denial of the massacre’s genocide character has been banned in Bosnia-Herzegovina since 2021.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic did not take part in the commemoration. He condolized the families of the Bosniac victims on the X. Serbia platform did not recognize the classacre’s classification as a genocide. Vucic described the events in his post as “terrible crime”.
The foundation stone for monument in the Hague
In the Hague, several hundred people were there at a commemoration, in which the foundation stone was laid for a national memorial to commemorate the genocide. Before the earlier UN war criminal tribunal in Yugoslavia, the stone was laid with 8,372 smaller stones – according to the number of victims.
AfD speeches in the Bundestag come across protest in the plenum
The Bundestag interrupted the ongoing budget consultations for a memorial debate to the genocide. “Srebrenica was the worst war crime on European soil since the Second World War,” said Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) at the start.
The AfD MP Alexander Wolf then criticized the classification of the war crime as a genocide and said, “the Serbs shot men there, fundamentally spared women and children”. The culture of remembrance that is forced to impose the already fragile state of Bosnia-Herzegovina from outside does not contribute to the opening of the tensions in the state. The statements of the other factions criticized the statements and accused Wolf of denying the genocide.
There was also loud protest when AfD MP Martin Secures his speech, especially for domestic issues that are important to the AfD. “Srebrenica warns us to end multiculturalism before it is too late,” he said.
Foreign Minister Johann WadePhul (CDU) unplanned after the AfD speeches. The Bundestag discussed the recognized genocide, he also said to the guests in the stands: “And I regret that we put up with the victims to the relatives, especially here and the ambassador,” he added to such debates, “he added.
Live ticker for the commemoration, text and video, Bosnian
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
