Women in Black stage Srebrenica 8372 performance in Republic Square, Belgrade

As part of the commemoration of the 22nd anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, the non-governmental organization Women in Black from Belgrade, with the support of art collectives MMC Led art from Novi Sad, Dah Teatar from Belgrade, and civil society activists, staged a performance titled "Srebrenica 8372" in Republic Square, Belgrade, on Tuesday evening, reports Patria News Agency.

The gathering did not proceed as announced because, due to threats and protests from several dozen members of various nationalist groups, Women in Black had to move to another side of the Square. Members of these associations demanded that "issues concerning Serb victims be resolved first.".

Staša Zajović, a representative of Women in Black, told FTV that this was not spontaneous, as they have been attacked with smoke bombs and tear gas by nationalist and pro-fascist organizations in previous years, so this was nothing new.

- Genocide is a state-organized crime that was neither spontaneous nor the act of a madman. They received permission over us. We had our gathering registered well in advance because we care about respecting the legal framework of this country, but it is strange that legalism is always applied much more flexibly to fascist organizations than to us. They want to say that there is no place in this country for us who advocate for solidarity with the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica. Even space at the university is being taken away from us. All of this shows that this country is rushing, not into autocracy, but into a totalitarian regime, because a state that is afraid to listen to citizens who speak the truth and advocate for solidarity is not a state of citizens but a state of moral collapse. Totalitarianism begins with those who fear the truth, and I must say that this is at all levels, not only at the state level but also at the judicial level, because all our criminal complaints related to attacks concerning the Srebrenica genocide have been rejected, including by the Court of Appeals - Zajović stated.

She added that Aleksandar Vučić's visit to Potočari two years ago was merely a show for the international community, and in reality, it was a calculating move that called into question the act of commemoration itself, as he, rather than the victims, was the center of attention. She emphasized that Vučić and his government have done nothing to show they have changed, and everything they have done has been out of calculation.

- We can believe that people are capable of change, but they have not done so even on a rhetorical level, and on the level of actions, they have done nothing. They have persistently worked to reject the rulings of the International Court of Justice. What kind of EU integration is it in which they do not respect anything related to EU integration? One thing is very dangerous, and that is that they are spreading fear of the very concept of genocide. They attribute this to the entire Serbian people. No, this is about the responsibility of individuals and perpetrators of genocide, not the entire Serbian people. Imagine a city where nothing is said about genocide today, only in our circles - stated Staša Zajović.

She added that despite all the obstructions they face, they will not give up the fight for truth and justice and will always stand with the Women of Srebrenica. Women in Black will attend the funeral in Potočari tomorrow, as they have in previous years.

The Srebrenica genocide is the largest war crime after World War II in Europe. Slobodan Milošević's regime was an accomplice to the genocide by providing enormous political, military, logistical, and financial assistance to the Army of Republika Srpska.

The non-governmental organization once again reminded of the issues for which Serbia is responsible regarding the Srebrenica genocide:

- The state of Serbia is the first and, to date, the only country in the world found responsible for violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by a judgment of the International Court of Justice (2007).

- The individual criminal responsibility of a large number of members of Serbian armed formations and political institutions that acted in the spirit of realizing the territorial project of Greater Serbia has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt at the Hague Tribunal, and the Srebrenica genocide is part of that project.

- The state leadership of Serbia, along with officials of Republika Srpska, and with the help of Russia, prevented the adoption of the Resolution on Srebrenica at the UN in June 2015.

- A paranoid fear prevails in Serbia, manifested in frenzied reactions to even the mention of the word genocide. This is undoubtedly contributed to by the persistent refusal of the current President, Aleksandar Vučić, to name the Srebrenica crime as genocide, a stance followed not only by politicians of the ruling coalition but also by a large part of the opposition politicians. This confirms the systematic perpetuation of the ideology that enabled the genocide and justifies crimes by celebrating criminals as heroes. Do we need to warn that such stubbornness in defending crimes and criminals inevitably leads this society into an even deeper moral collapse?

For over a decade, Women in Black and related organizations have been calling for the recognition of the genocide, for July 11th to be declared the Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide, and for the denial of genocide to be classified as a criminal offense.

The ignoring of our demands confirms the lack of political will and moral capacity of the current authorities, as well as the link between the ideology of crime and the current authorities of Serbia, the continuity of moral and cultural patterns with the regime under which the genocide was committed – a state-organized crime.

Therefore, we will repeat these demands, supplementing them with the demand to sever all relations of the state of Serbia with the secessionist policies of the authorities in the entity of Republika Srpska, insisting on a clear stance towards responsibility for war and war crimes, towards genocide, and towards ethnic cleansing.

Only then will the government of the Republic of Serbia succeed in starting to achieve the declared goals of state policy, including achieving regional cooperation and stability, but only on the condition that the president and prime minister divest themselves of the services of their associates who come from the criminal-political and war-profiteering milieu – stated Women in Black.