Croatian President Ivo Josipovic has said that he has come in Srebrenica to extend condolences on his own behalf and on behalf of Croatian citizens to families that lost their dearest ones 16 years ago and to share grief with them in that eastern Bosnian town.
"Srebrenica is a site of horrendous crime of genocide," Josipovic told Croatian reporters covering on Monday central commemorations of the 16th anniversary of atrocities Bosnian Serb forces, under the command of Ratko Mladic, committed against Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) when they raided the eastern enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995 when that town was an UN safe haven. Over 8,000 Bosniaks were killed in those worst atrocities on European soil since the WW II.
Srebrenica is a stark reminder that we must never allow anything similar happen again, Josipovic said, emphasising that reconciliation and fence mending in the region are pillars of his policy.
"My arrival here is primarily of human nature, to sympathise with victims and their families," said Josipovic, who was one of speakers at today's commemoration when 613 victims, identified by DNA analysis, were buried in the Potocari cemetery within the memorial centre build in memory of victims of the genocide.
Bosniak member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, Bakir Izetbgovic, said that it was important today for the region to have leaders such is President Josipovic, a proponent of cooperation.
Izetbegovic said that there were no words to describe "irrational evil" and genocide which was committed in Srebrenica as well-planned mass murder of Bosniaks only because of their faith and loyalty to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He said that the war atrocities in Srebrenica were a stain on the conscience of the humankind which would never be erased.
"The only revenge I call for today is to maintain the country's integrity," Izetbegovic said.
The international community's High Representative in Sarajevo, Valentin Inzko, said that Srebrenica reminded the world to be active in opposing the evil.
The president of the committee organising commemorations of the 16th anniversary of the Srebrenica tragedy, Camil Durakovic, said that grief and anguish caused by the lost lives could not be eliminated, but a small consolation this year was the fact that the Bosnian Serb wartime military leader Mladic had been finally arrested.
Bosnian Security Minister Sadik Ahmetovic said that it was important that all three constituent peoples in Bosnia should renounce those who had committed war crimes in their names.
U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia, Patrick Moon, conveyed expressions of condolences on behalf of his administration, adding that Ratko Mladic would finally answer for crimes.
Those who are denying this genocide or downplaying it are denying their humanity and compassion, the U.S. diplomat said.
The Sarajevo-headquartered International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) reported on Sunday that based on reliable data, it could be estimated that some 8,100 Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) went missing after Serb forces, under Mladic's command raided the enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995.
"By analyzing DNA profiles extracted from bone samples of exhumed mortal remains and matching them to the DNA profiles obtained from blood samples donated by relatives of the missing, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has so far revealed the identity of 6,598 persons missing from the July 1995 fall of Srebrenica," the commission said in a press release. So far, 5,325 victims have been buried in Potocari and other cemeteries.
Several thousand people attended today's commemorative events in Srebrenica under heavy security.
