Angelina Jolie in Srebrenica again in July?

Although the genocide in Srebrenica and the surviving victims of Srebrenica who experienced the worst horrors of war are mostly talked about in July, specifically on July 11 when a collective funeral and commemoration for the identified victims of the genocide is organized, this year the situation is quite different.

Yesterday's visit of UN Ambassador and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie to Srebrenica and the Potočari Memorial Center with the British Foreign Secretary William Hague contributed to reminding the world of the hell that Bosnia and Herzegovina went through during the aggression from 1992 to 1995, even before July 11. Jolie met with women from associations of Srebrenica mothers and rape victims, and as the Mayor of Srebrenica Municipality Ćamil Duraković confirmed for the Patria News Agency, Jolie received an invitation to attend the commemoration of the genocide victims on July 11.

- The mothers of Srebrenica invited Angelina Jolie to come on July 11, but they did not receive a response. Her visit was exclusively related to humanitarian work, and thus it was an opportunity to visit Srebrenica and talk with the mothers. It is now up to her to decide whether she will come this year or next year when the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica will be marked - says Duraković.

Otherwise, before visiting Srebrenica, Jolie had a meeting with the members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and she also appeared as a speaker at the conference "Prevention of Sexual Violence in Conflict - Empowering the Role of Security Forces in Peace Support Operations", where she emphasized that international aid for Bosnia and Herzegovina came too late.

Duraković, who is also the president of the Organizational Committee for the commemoration of July 11, told NAP that this holy date is attempted to be politicized every year.

- Certain political elites want to promote some of their political activities and goals, but we strongly condemn this and always try to stay out of politics within our work and leave it outside of Srebrenica. The burial and commemoration for the victims of the genocide do not need any political activities. I fear that the election campaign is already in full swing and will be much sharper and dirtier than in previous years - Duraković stated.

The number of victims to be buried in Potočari this year is still unknown, as activities to identify the found victims in mass graves, especially in the Tomašica area, are still ongoing. He could not officially say anything about officials who might come to the commemoration, but emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina has information about the arrival of officials before the Organizational Committee.