UNMIK ON AIR
SREBRENICA 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Part 1
By Zoran CULAFIC
Hello and
welcome .. you are listening to UNMIK ON AIR program
July 11,
2005 marked 10th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, when Bosnian Serb
military forces brutally murdered in a few days almost 8.000 Bosniack, men and
boys. Srebrenica massacre is considered to be a worst massacre on European soil
since World War Two.
Atmos
.in and under
.during the links
On
Monday, July 11th 2005 a couple of dozens of senior political leaders from the
region and the world gathered in Srebrenica to pay honor to the victims of
brutal and inhuman killings that marked the darkest pages of modern Balkan
history.
One of
the main massages that were heard in Srebrenica was the fact that building a
better future for all in the region would not be possible if the truth of the
past is not revealed completely and the responsible for the massacre brought
before the court, particularly Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladic.
Member of
the Bosnia Herzegovina Presidency Sulejman Tihic stressed that the UN has
failed completely to protect Bosniack population in Srebrenica. However, Tihic
emphasized that many other crimes were also committed throughout Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and all communities, regardless of their ethnic origin, should
address that issue in a responsible and accountable manner.
All local
politicians in the region bear main responsibility for addressing the crimes
committed by citizens belonging to their own ethnic group.
Sulejman
Tihic The war criminals cannot be treated as national heroes, because they
do not have no nation and no faith at all. And denial of war crime is also a
crime. Only on the basis of truth and
justice we can build trust and confidence and good relations between peoples
and states. We must not allow, that cause of many possible conflicts in future
could be the fact that we failed to determine confidence the truth of our past.
Special
Envoy of the UN Secretary General, Mark Brown recognized publicly that UN failed
to protect citizens of Srebrenica
Mark
Brown Our first duty is to uncover and to confront full truth about what
happened. To us, who serve the UN, that truth is the hard one to face. We can
say, and it is truth, that greatest nations failed to respond adequately. We
can say, and it is also truth, that there should have been stronger military
forces in place, and the stronger will to use them. We can say, and it is
undeniable, that blame lies first and foremost with those who planned and
carried out the massacre, or who assisted them, or who harbored them and are
still harboring them today. We cannot avoid our own share of responsibility. As
I wrote in my report in 1999, we made serious errors of judgment rooted in a
philosophy of impartiality and nonviolence which however admirable was not
unsuited to the conflict in Bosnia, and thats why I also wrote the tragedy
of Srebrenica will haunt over the UN history for ever.
Srebrenica
mayor Abdurahman Malkic called on tolerance and reconciliation and appealed on
international community to help build a better future for all people in
Srebrenica.
Srebrenica
major Srebrenica is a place of conscience for all of us. And if we could
not or did not wanted to prevent genocide, let us now and help Srebrenica to
live with dignity and its citizens live in dignity. Let our future be in peace,
tolerance and living together.
With this
we end todays program. Tomorrow you can listen the second part of the
Srebrenica Story. Thanks for being with us and stay tuned.