Srebrenica buries 10 genocide victims on 31st anniversary; organizer attacked in Belgrade

Thousands gathered at the Potočari Memorial Center near Srebrenica to bury the remains of ten more victims of the 1995 genocide. The ceremony marked the 31st anniversary of the massacre, where Bosnian Serb forces killed over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys. The newly interred victims, aged 20 to 56, bring the total number of identified victims buried at the center to 6,782.

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Srebrenica is a global warning that dehumanization, hatred, and Greater Serbian projects must be responded to in a timely manner, because aggressors must not be appeased.

Speakers at the event stressed the enduring significance of Srebrenica as a global reminder of the consequences of hatred and the necessity of timely responses to dehumanization and nationalist ambitions. "Mass executions in July 1995 were not the result of spontaneous action or uncontrolled hatred. On the contrary, the genocide was carefully planned and brutally executed," stated Denis Bećirović, the chairman of Bosnia and Herzegovina's presidency. He also noted that Serbia bears a share of responsibility for the crime, as confirmed by court rulings.

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Mass executions in July 1995 were not the result of spontaneous action or uncontrolled hatred. On the contrary, the genocide was carefully planned and brutally executed.

The commemoration was overshadowed by an incident in Belgrade, Serbia, where an organizer of a Srebrenica remembrance event, writer and activist Vladimir Arsenijević, was assaulted by a group of young men. Arsenijević reported being beaten, kicked, and threatened. Graffiti glorifying Ratko Mladić and the Bosnian Serb Army had also appeared at the planned ceremony site. Due to security concerns, the organizers canceled the Belgrade event, though a separate candle-lighting ceremony was scheduled for later that evening.

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I was met by a group of 20 to 30 young people who hit me, kicked me, and threatened me.