FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ismail Akbulut
July 11th, 2020 PHONE: 720 608 1907
EMAIL: contact@mosaicfoundation.org
AURORA, COLORADO July 11th, 2020. Multicultural Mosaic Foundation Commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Srebrenica genocide was the worst atrocity crime on European soil since the Second World War. More than 8,372 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed after the Bosnian Serb Army attacked Srebrenica, a designated UN “safe area”, on 10-11 July 1995, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers.
We share the grief of their families, including those whose family members are still missing (more than 1,000 people). And we re-affirm our solidarity with the survivors.
Confronting that past is a vital step towards rebuilding trust. Reconciliation must be underpinned by mutual empathy and understanding. Reconciliation means rejecting denial of genocide and war crimes and of any effort to glorify convicted war criminals. It also means recognizing the suffering of all victims and not attributing collective guilt.
Srebrenica is a reminder that no society is immune to the gravest of crimes. Genocide does not happen overnight. Years of hateful populism exploiting divisions in society, supported by campaigns of misinformation and propaganda, usually precede violence. To learn lessons from Srebrenica and make true the pledge of ‘never again’, we must begin by confronting hate speech and discrimination in all forms.
All communities, all leaders and all organizations — including the media — must make this pledge.
Every human is created with dignity by God and every human life is equally valuable.
We hope and pray that humanity can come together to marginalize and eventually root out all totalitarian ideologies that use violence as a weapon.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to families and relatives of victims of the Srebrenica Genocide.
Sincerely,
Multicultural Mosaic Foundation