Christian Schmidt, the international community's peace envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said a day ahead of the commemoration for the Srebrenica genocide victims it is surprising and shocking that even today there is no joint stance on the events from the past. Pročitaj više

What happened here is horrible, Schmidt said in his speech at the Potocari Memorial Centre, adding that he would work to make sure that all those who deny genocide will be subject of legal actions and will be prosecuted.

He also announced a meeting with a German legal expert, who work on the cases of denial of Holocaust, to help find the best solutions for the denial of the Srebrenica genocide.

High Representative Schmidt pledged to continue working together with the Potocari Memorial Centre management to support and expand the Memorial Center's work beyond commemorations, in particular when it comes to education and the culture of remembrance.

He thanked the Memorial Centre head Emir Suljagic and his associates for accepting to work together towards plans for the future, in order to teach new generations with violations of human rights and so that such things do not repeat again.

Also, he stressed the importance of the people who live in the Srebrenica area to feel good, especially the victims’ families who are, as he said, often treated in a bad way and offended in a very unacceptable way.

The remains of another 30 victims will be buried this week at the Potocari Memorial Centre, with the youngest victim aged 15 at the time of the death and other two juvenile victims aged 16 and 17.

Over 8,000 persons were killed in the genocide, mainly men and boys. To date, the remains of 6,652 have been buried at the Potocari memorial. The remains of 237 have been buried elsewhere according to their families’ wishes.

For the Srebrenica genocide, the Hague war crimes tribunal sentenced to life former Bosnian Serb political and military leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.