SHAMEFUL: Mayor Bešlić Organises Cocktail and Reception for Athletes of the City of Mostar on 11 July

Tomorrow, 11 July, the saddest day on the planet, when the souls of another 127 genocide victims will find their final rest in the cemetery in Potočari, the Mayor of Mostar Ljubo Bešlić and the President of the Sports Association of the City of Mostar Hasan Šišić will organise a cocktail and reception at the City Hall for athletes of the City of Mostar, reports the Patria news agency.

For years, the official City of Mostar has not observed the Day of Mourning on 11 July, and for years flags have not been lowered to half-mast, and now the straw that broke the camel's back is the cocktail and reception for athletes.

It will mean nothing if Bešlić and Šišić cancel this reception today or possibly tomorrow. There is no justification, because for 21 years it has been known that 11 July is the saddest of the 365 sad days throughout the year.

Just as the official City of Mostar never marks 9 November 1993, the day the Old Bridge was destroyed, so it does not observe the Day of Mourning on 11 July, which was declared by both the Council of Ministers of BiH and the Government of the Federation of BiH.

Since 2009, 11 July has been declared a Day of Mourning in Europe as well

In January 2009, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on Srebrenica, calling on EU member states and the countries of the Western Balkans to henceforth mark 11 July as the Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica genocide.

The Resolution, jointly proposed by all political groups in the EP, emphasised the need to remember and appropriately honour all victims of crimes committed during the wars in the Balkans.