INDEPENDENCE DAY - ACBH: We don't just celebrate independence, we remember the innocent victims

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - On the 28th anniversary of Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence, the Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina (ACBH) wishes the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina a Happy Independence Day, according to a statement from this organization.

On this day in 1992, out of 64 percent of Bosnia and Herzegovina's voters who voted in the independence referendum, 99.4 percent voted for independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 

Since then, the country has faced some of the greatest challenges seen in Europe since World War II.
 
“Celebrations following the declaration of Bosnia's independence in 1992 were interrupted as conflict loomed. When the first shots were fired in Sarajevo on April 6, 1992, the country and its citizens were plunged into a war that claimed over 100,000 lives and displaced over 2 million people. As the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina began, Serb forces ethnically cleansed the vast majority of the non-Serb population from what is now Republika Srpska - a smaller entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of the final acts of brutal ethnic cleansing and genocide occurred on July 11, 1995, when the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, declared a United Nations safe haven, fell to Serb military forces led by General Ratko Mladić, who commanded the massacre of over 8,000 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys”, the statement reads.

It is added that thousands of people are still missing today, and as the years pass, the likelihood of them being identified and honored becomes smaller.

“So today, ACBH not only celebrates the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we also remember the innocent victims. Despite overwhelming and irrefutable evidence, the vehement denial of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Srebrenica and other sites of mass atrocities by the political leadership of Republika Srpska is unacceptable. This, along with widespread corruption and an alarming rise in historical revisionism, greatly undermines democratic principles and human rights, and jeopardizes the peace and security of the Bosnian people. The alarming spread of ethno-nationalism threatens Bosnia and Herzegovina's centuries-old multi-ethnic society and does not pave the way for Euro-Atlantic integration; it only perpetuates an atmosphere of fear and hatred among different ethnic groups and imposes artificial separatism”, says ACBH.

Today, ACBH pays tribute to the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina at home and abroad as they continue to demand justice and social change, and we are forever grateful to the United States and the American people for their long-standing friendship and unwavering support. 

While congratulating the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ACBH pledges to continue working with our friends and partners to combat genocide denial and advocate for a democratic Bosnia and Herzegovina - a state capable of serving all its citizens.