SERBS PAY RESPECT TO ALL INNOCENT VICTIMS, BOSNIAKS BOYCOTT

SREBRENICA, JULY 10 /SRNA/ – Today, councilors of Serb nationality paid a dignified tribute with a minute of silence to the innocent victims from Srebrenica who perished during the past war in BiH, while Bosniak councilors, as last year, boycotted the commemorative session of the Municipal Assembly.

The tribute was paid on the occasion of marking 33 years since the suffering of Serbs and 30 years since the suffering of Bosniaks from this local community.

The session was also attended by representatives of Serb families of the fallen.

Aware of the great human losses in the Srebrenica municipality, councillors concluded 18 years ago that members of the Bosniak, Serb, and other peoples had perished here, and since then, every year on July 10, a commemorative session of the local parliament is held to honour all innocent victims from Srebrenica.

At the time this decision was made, the assembly majority consisted of Bosniak councilors, almost all of whom were war participants, and based on their personal knowledge, they assessed that both Serbs and Bosniaks from Srebrenica had perished.

However, current Bosniak councilors are boycotting this, although they were not war participants and do not know what happened in the wartime years in this municipality.

Deputy Speaker of the Municipal Assembly Radomir Pavlović, who chaired the session, said that all councillors were invited, but that Bosniaks did not appear for unknown reasons.

He stated that every reasonable person should pray for the souls of the perished residents of Srebrenica, both Serbs and Bosniaks, as well as for peace, and that the pain of every mother for her child is the same as that of children for their lost parents.

"We call for peace, reason, and mutual respect. We extend a hand for cooperation and building a better future with those who want it. To build coexistence, remember the victims, and jointly share the pain of this region," said Pavlović.

Municipal Mayor Miloš Vučić said that the commemorative session of the Srebrenica Municipal Assembly is intended as a day to remember and honor all innocent victims from all peoples who perished from 1992 to 1995.

He expressed regret that Bosniak councillors did not attend the commemorative session to jointly pay tribute to the victims and send a message of peace.

Councillor Nemanja Zekić, son of Goran Zekić, a pre-war MP in the BiH National Assembly who was killed in an ambush on May 8, 1992, said that the pain of every child for their parent is the same and that for years he has been asking and has never received an answer as to why only one side, the Bosniak side, has the right to speak about its suffering.

"They talk and courts rule for Bosniak victims, while we are denied that right, and for the mass victims of the Serb people in central Podrinje there is no punishment – why, and until when?" asked Zekić.