Message from the President of the Republic of Croatia on the 26th Anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide
The President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović has issued a message on the occasion of marking the 26th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica on the 11th of July, 2021:
“Today, we mark another sad anniversary of a horrific and insane crime in which the lives of more than eight thousand people were cut short. On this occasion, I would like to reiterate my most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and emphasize that we are aware of their immense pain and immense suffering.
The genocide committed here 26 years ago is the most horrific crime on the European continent since World War II and it is the lasting responsibility of all states and the entire international community to perpetuate the memory of the innocent victims of this brutal, inconceivable massacre, the twilight of civilization.
I wish to emphasize that the tragedy of the thousands of victims’ families is constantly deepened by numerous attempts to deny or relativize this horrific massacre, and we have been observing this for decades.
The future, as well as cooperation between the peoples in this area, will not be able to be built without an honest attitude towards the past, which includes considering the painful facts about the crimes in Srebrenica.
An open-minded and honest attitude towards the past, as well as punishment for all those responsible for this crime, will enable the opening of new pages of cooperation based on European values that will lead to a future in which young people will not live in fear that the terrible crimes from the past will be repeated, of which there were many in this region of ours, too many.
It is the responsibility of us all to do everything in our power on a daily basis in order for such horrific tragedies to not be repeated in the future.”