Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, which he described as one of the worst atrocities committed in Europe after the Second World War, should and would never be forgotten.
"A quarter of the century has passed since one of the most heinous atrocities on European soil after the World War Two, was committed in Srebrenica. It is with deepest respect that we commemorate today more than 8,000 Bosniak men, boys and civilians killed in Srebrenica and we also show our deep sympathies to their families and dearest ones. The victims of Srebrenica must not and will not ever be forgotten," Plenkovic wrote in a press release issued on the occasion of commemorating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the eastern Bosnian enclave into the hands of the Serb forces.
The genocidal character of the crimes committed in Srebrenica was confirmed by verdicts handed down by the UN court for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) against wartime Bosnian Serb leaders Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic.
The atrocities perpetrated in Srebrenica are a tragic and undeniable fact which serves as admonition. Plenkovic went on to say that "all of us must be committed to the efforts aimed at establishing and promoting the truth about Srebrenica."
Being a friendly neighbour of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia will always help that country in its endeavours to build a brighter future as a state of three equal constituent peoples, Plenkovic said, reiterating Zagreb's commitment to help Bosnia and Herzegovina on its journey towards its European Union membership.
Text: Hina