Duraković: My peers are buried in Potočari, I am alive by chance

At the Battery Factory in Potočari, the commemoration for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide began with the performance of the BiH national anthem by the Art Vivo choir under the direction of Daniel Žontar.

The first to address those present was Ćamil Duraković, the mayor of the Srebrenica municipality, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

- 20 years after the painful murder, coffins with their remains will be lowered into the graves of their loved ones. Among them are 19 boys who were under 18 years old. They were my peers, and I am alive by chance. Most of the boys I played with lie in the Memorial Center or in unknown mass graves. My childhood was also destroyed. Today we will bury a father, his son, and his grandson. Entire families of Bosnian Muslims from Srebrenica are missing. Those over 8,300 killed Bosniaks first suffered greatly from 1992 to 1995; they were imprisoned, tortured by thirst and hunger. Tied with wire, taken to execution sites, executed, thrown into mass graves, moved. Bosniaks who fled into the woods fell into ambushes. Bosniaks did not respond to this violence with violence. Women who lost their husbands and sons spread love. Living in Srebrenica today is not easy at all; returnees live difficult lives, unemployment is high. Sometimes it is emotionally unbearable for me. I wonder if it would have been better if we had been more aggressive, if we would have avoided the humiliation we have today. When these questions overwhelm me, I come here and look at the headstones in silence. In those moments, those headstones tell me that we chose well, patience instead of violence, justice instead of injustice, life instead of death. We remained ourselves, sharp, hardworking, and honest. Our heart knew that genocide was being committed against us - said Duraković.

The President of the Hague Tribunal, Theodor Meron, said that 10 years ago he had the honor of being the presiding judge when the verdict on appeal in the case of Radislav Krstić was rendered, and that was the first verdict declaring the crimes in Srebrenica in 1995 as genocide.

- As one of the most serious crimes, the crime of genocide stands out because it is particularly shameful; it is terrible due to its enormous scale. Those who carry out genocide want to deprive humanity of the people who make up its nations, races, religions. It is a crime against all of humanity, and its consequences are felt by all of humanity. The gravity of genocide is reflected in the strict requirements; when those conditions are met, the law must not hesitate to call the committed crime by its true name.

The Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide. They took away all personal belongings from captured Muslim men, to kill them deliberately, methodically, solely based on their affiliation. The Bosnian Serb forces knew that the evil they inflicted would remain a permanent wound for Bosnian Muslims.

The responsible will carry this stigma, and it will serve as a warning for the future to all who think of committing such a heinous act.

The verdict against Krstić is just one rendered by the Hague Tribunal. We can all be proud of what the Tribunal has achieved; it is important that we must not forget those believed to have committed genocide.

Court verdicts do not heal deep wounds, like those crimes committed in Srebrenica. Nor can they bring back the victims. Today, as we have gathered to remember all those who lost their lives, we must also pay tribute to the men and women who did so much to move us forward and to never forget the past.

- Dearest mothers of Srebrenica, since my first visit in July 1996, you have a special place in my heart.

Today we are here with you who lost your loved ones 20 years ago in a crime that international courts have ruled as genocide. After two decades, families will see off 136 victims to their final rest, and they will find their peace.

ICMP was founded in 1996 to work together with countries from the region on the process of finding more than 40,000 missing persons. To date, 70 percent of them have been found and identified, including more than 90 percent of the Srebrenica victims, said Jordanian Queen Noor, a representative of ICMP, adding that the past will never be forgotten.

Those gathered at the commemoration were also addressed on behalf of Croatia by Kolinda Grabar Kitarović.

-Today, together with all of you, I pay tribute to the victims who lost their lives in a senseless crime. On behalf of Croatia, I wish you a future of light. Croatia is with you,' said the Croatian president during her address.

Slovenian President Borut Pahor said he would like to call on everyone to forgiveness and reconciliation.

- I will understand if this call evokes different feelings. Forgiveness and reconciliation require a great deal of courage and reconciliation. That is the only path to a secure future. Expecting someone who has survived crimes to forgive is very difficult. Without reconciliation, there is no cooperation; without cooperation, there is no unity; and without the necessary unity, great decisions cannot be made. That is exactly what BiH needs now; it is not easy, but it is the only path for your children's dreams.

I came here to Srebrenica, to the site of genocide, and I ask you to forgive after 20 years; I am not talking about forgetting or the statute of limitations for crimes and criminals. I know it is difficult and that it is a brave decision. Think about it. Every delay in forgiveness and reconciliation delays our future.

Forgiveness and reconciliation are the foundation of a united Europe and will be the foundation of a modern BiH. The other condition is a clear European perspective and no delay in that direction.

The European perspective of BiH is also my obligation as one of the leaders of one of the 28 EU member states.

I came as a friend and I want to leave as a friend and return again as a friend. I commit to doing everything for a peaceful and secure future of this part of Europe and to encourage you to forgive, and I will do everything to contribute to a clear European perspective for BiH. Like you, today I see suffering and sorrow in tearful eyes, but I also see hope and I see the endless possibilities of your country. I see a peaceful BiH and strength and energy.

Dragan Čović, a member of the Presidency of BiH, said that perhaps the most appropriate thing is to remain silent and feel all the pain of the suffering.

- That pain is deep and strong, and after feeling it, it is hard to say anything. This place speaks to us; today it is a place of commemoration, silence, a place of suffering, tangible pain, the center of the world, and its terrifying pain belongs to the whole world.

Genocide was committed in Srebrenica, which humiliated us all as human beings; modern civilization is permanently ashamed. There is no nation that does not count and mourn its victims, and that is the truth. It is true that Srebrenica is a legacy of madness that, in the war frenzy, wiped out entire generations of families and left wounds that are hard to heal. It is a symbol that gathers us and it is our conscience.

My gray head also asks the question: is any of us innocent? I am aware that the wounds and pain are too great and that healing must be done with care. I am aware that life and coexistence go hand in hand in BiH. The question to the mothers is: have we done anything for you in these 20 years that today we may ask for your forgiveness, can we ask to build reconciliation and the outlines of a common future? I am free to ask this because Srebrenica must not be a symbol of death. A message of peace to the whole world; from here, a message must go out that peace has no price, that there will never be war again. A message to anyone that they must not start new wars on the sanctity of these victims.