US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Michael Murphy visited the Srebrenica Memorial Centre on Thursday where he paid respects to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, which he called “one of the darkest moments in recent European history.”

“The guilt for the Srebrenica genocide is individual and is borne by those who committed these atrocious acts, but society, political leaders, and institutions have a moral obligation to address the harm done,” the ambassador said on this occasion, noting that the US will never forget this crime committed at command of Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic – Bosnian Serb political and military leaders during the 1990s.

He stressed that Mladic and Karadzic “are war criminals, not heroes” and that “no amount of denial, no mural, and no momentum can change that.”

“Their guilt and their infamy are eternal,” he stressed.

In a statement issued on this occasion, Murphy clarified that these two and other individuals – and not entire ethnic groups – bear the guilt for Srebrenica.

“At the same time, society, political leaders, and institutions have a profound responsibility to acknowledge what occurred at Srebrenica and an enduring obligation to address this and other wrongs of the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This includes the leaders of the Republika Srpska (Bosnia's Serb-majority region),” said the ambassadors.

The United States will never forget the Srebrenica genocide committed by elements of the Army of RS at the command of Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic. Mladic and Karadzic are war criminals, not heroes. No amount of denial, no mural, and no monument can change that. pic.twitter.com/l1XYjgEzTC

— US Embassy Sarajevo (@USEmbassySJJ) April 14, 2022

He called for accepting and acknowledging of the facts, teaching the truth to future generations, honouring the victims, locating, recovering and identifying the missing, and investigating and prosecuting the suspects who are still among us.

“This is the only road to a future that reconciles the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that heals and binds the wounds of this country, and that guarantees a just and lasting peace between the children and grandchildren of those who suffered and died between 1992 and 1995,” he said.