UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly will vote on Thursday on declaring an annual day of remembrance for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, despite furious opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Serbia.
The resolution written by Germany and Rwanda — nations synonymous with 20th-century genocides — would make July 11 International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide.
Serbia’s government said that an attempt is underway to blame Serbs in general and President Aleksandar Vucic said he would be at the UN to fight with all his strength and heart in opposition to the initiative, according to AFP.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric pledged to protect his country and people from a long-term stigma.
Hours ahead of the vote, church bells rang out across Serbia in protest, with the Serbian Orthodox Church stating they hoped the move would unite Serbs in prayers, mutual solidarity, serenity, and firmness in doing good, despite unjust and untrue accusations it faces at the UN.
Srebrenica Genocide
Bosnian Serb forces captured Srebrenica — a United Nations-protected enclave at the time — on July 11, 1995, a few months before the end of Bosnia’s bloody civil war, which witnessed approximately 100,000 people killed.
In the following days, Bosnian Serb forces killed nearly 8,000 Muslim men and teenagers — a crime described as genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice.
The incident is considered the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War Two.
In addition to establishing the memorial day, the draft resolution condemns any denial of the genocide and urges UN member nations to preserve the established facts.
In a letter from Germany and Rwanda to the rest of the UN, the vote was described as a very important opportunity to unite in honoring the victims and acknowledging the pivotal role played by international courts.
