Kosovo declares July 11 Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Day

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Kosovo decided Wednesday to declare July 11 Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Day to honor the memory of more than 8,300 boys and men who were murdered in the hills around Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995.

''As one of the first countries to implement the UN resolution on the -Srebrenica genocide, the Republic of Kosovo has just decided, as the first topic of our government meeting today, that July 11 will be designated as the official Commemoration Day for Srebrenica,'' said Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz.

Türkiye on Tuesday, officially accepted July 11 as International Day of Remembrance of the Genocide in Srebrenica.

Also Tuesday, Bosnia and Herzegovina sent the remains of 14 additional Srebrenica genocide victims to Potocari village, three days before their burials on the 29th anniversary of the genocide.

Every year on July 11, newly identified victims of the genocide are buried in a memorial cemetery in Potocari in the country’s east.

In late May, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution designating July 11 as Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Day, which received overwhelming support.

The resolution, spearheaded by Germany and co-sponsored by more than 40 countries, calls for July 11 to be declared "International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica."

The youngest victim to be buried this year is Beriz Mujic, 17, born in 1978 in Zvornik.

His remains were found 28 years after he was killed and was exhumed in May 2023.

He was killed in July 1995 in the Suceska area near Bratunac, and his remains were discovered and exhumed in the Srebrenica municipality area.

Mujic will be buried next to his brother Hazim, whose remains were laid to rest in 2013.

The body of their father, Omer Mujic, has yet to be found.

The oldest victim who will be buried Thursday is Hamed Salic, born in 1927. He was 68 when he went missing in the summer of 1995 in the town of Zepa. His remains were exhumed in May 2014 and recently identified.

Thousands of people from various countries will attend the funerals and burials. Following this year's funeral, the number of victims buried at the cemetery will reach 6,765.