Mogherini: In Srebrenica, Europe Faces Its Shame

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will not be able to attend the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, but she sent a message on the occasion of this sad anniversary, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

- On the fields of Srebrenica, the darkest page of recent European history was written.

Today, on the 20th anniversary of the massacre, we pay tribute to all the victims. Time and words cannot ease the pain of a mother who could not even bury her child. But time and words today can remind us all of what Europe is and what it should be.

After the Cold War, an entire generation hoped for a new era of peace. That is my generation. We dreamed of a united continent and woke up in the most terrible nightmare.

In Srebrenica, Europe faces its shame. Europe betrayed the promise of our founders and the dreams of their grandchildren – that there would be no more war in Europe, that there would be no more killing based on race or nation. That there would be no more genocide.

Srebrenica is a call to action. And that action is – never allow it to happen again.

Srebrenica teaches us that the founding principle of our European Union still holds true and that it is the only way for peace on our continent. Dividing European peoples into "us" and "them" will only cause new conflicts.

Christians and Muslims, Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. Newcomers and natives. Aspirations for "ethnically pure" states will not bring peace. We must enable all communities to be together, not to be torn apart. Living together is the essence of our Union.

For these reasons, we work with everyone in the Western Balkans to continue the European path. And all 28 member states, all institutions of the European Union, support the perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina to become part of our Union. We hope, and we work, for a future of partnership, justice and reconciliation. For all citizens of this country and this part of Europe.

In Srebrenica, we Europeans fell. The only thing we can do now, the only way to show respect to those victims, is to rise again. And to do so in one of the most difficult moments for Europe. To preserve the memory, to work on reconciliation and on a European Union based on brotherhood and solidarity, strong enough to face the numerous and difficult challenges we have within our borders and all around us. So that my generation is the last to witness and to live through such a tragedy in Europe.