Women in Black in Belgrade organizing Srebrenica 8372 performance action

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, are organizing a performance action "Srebrenica 8372" on July 10 from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM in Republic Square in Belgrade, reports Patria News Agency.

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

The non-governmental organization once again reminded of the responsibilities of Serbia regarding the genocide in Srebrenica:

- 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 genocide in Srebrenica 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. The persistent refusal of the current President, Aleksandar Vučić, to name the Srebrenica crime as genocide undoubtedly contributes to this, and he is followed not only by politicians of the ruling coalition but also by the majority of opposition politicians. This confirms the systematic maintenance of the ideology that enabled the genocide and justifies crimes, 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 downfall?

For over a decade, Women in Black and related organizations have been calling for the recognition of the genocide, for July 11 to be declared the Day of Remembrance of the Genocide in Srebrenica, 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 Republika Srpska entity, insisting on a clear stance on responsibility for the war and war crimes, for genocide, and for ethnic cleansing.

Only in this way will the government of the Republic of Serbia succeed in starting to achieve the proclaimed 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.