BAACBH-Breaking News- EU passed resolution declaring July 11th Day of Commemoration‏

P6_TA-PROV(2009)0028

Srebrenica

European Parliament resolution of 15 January 2009 on Srebrenica

The European Parliament,

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– having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2005 on Srebrenica,
– having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European
Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Bosnia and Herzegovina,
of the other part, signed in Luxembourg on 16 June 2008, and the prospect of EU
membership held out to all the countries of the western Balkans at the EU summit in
Thessaloniki in 2003,
– having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas in July 1995 the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, which was at that time an
isolated enclave proclaimed a Protected Zone by a United Nations Security Council
Resolution of 16 April 1993, fell into the hands of the Serbian militias led by General
Ratko Mladic and under the direction of the then President of the Republika Srpska,
Radovan Karadžic,
B. whereas, during several days of carnage after the fall of Srebrenica, more than 8 000
Muslim men and boys, who had sought safety in this area under the protection of the
United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), were summarily executed by
Bosnian Serb forces commanded by General Mladic and by paramilitary units,
including Serbian irregular police units which had entered Bosnian territory from
Serbia; whereas nearly 25 000 women, children and elderly people were forcibly
deported, making this event the biggest war crime to take place in Europe since the
end of the Second World War,
C. whereas this tragedy, declared an act of genocide by the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), took place in a UN-proclaimed safe
haven, and therefore stands as a symbol of the impotence of the international
community to intervene in the conflict and protect the civilian population,
D. whereas multiple violations of the Geneva Conventions were perpetrated by Bosnian
Serb troops against Srebrenica's civilian population, including deportations of
thousands of women, children and elderly people and the rape of a large number of
women,
E. whereas, in spite of the enormous efforts made to date to discover and exhume mass
and individual graves and identify the bodies of the victims, the searches conducted
until now do not permit a complete reconstruction of the events in and around
Srebrenica,


F. whereas there cannot be real peace without justice and whereas full and unrestricted
cooperation with the ICTY remains a basic requirement for further continuation of the
process of integration into the EU for the countries of the western Balkans,
G. whereas General Radislav Krstic of the Bosnian Serb army is the first person found
guilty by the ICTY of aiding and abetting the Srebrenica genocide, but whereas the
most prominent indicted person, Ratko Mladic, is still at large almost fourteen years
after the tragic events, and whereas it is to be welcomed that Radovan Karadžic now
has been transferred to the ICTY,
H. whereas the institutionalisation of a day of remembrance is the best means of paying
tribute to the victims of the massacres and sending a clear message to future
generations,
1. Commemorates and honours all the victims of the atrocities during the wars in the
former Yugoslavia; expresses its condolences to and solidarity with the families of
the victims, many of whom are living without final confirmation of the fate of their
relatives; recognises that this continuing pain is aggravated by the failure to bring
those responsible for these acts to justice;
2. Calls on the Council and the Commission to commemorate appropriately the
anniversary of the Srebrenica-Potocari act of genocide by supporting Parliament's
recognition of 11 July as the day of commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide
all over the EU, and to call on all the countries of the western Balkans to do the
same;
3. Calls for further efforts to bring the remaining fugitives to justice, expresses its full
support for the valuable and difficult work of the ICTY and stresses that bringing to
justice those responsible for the massacres in and around Srebrenica is an important
step towards peace and stability in the region; reiterates in that regard that increased
attention needs to be paid to war crimes trials at domestic level;
4. Stresses the importance of reconciliation as part of the European integration process;
emphasises the important role of religious communities, the media and the education
system in this process, so that civilians of all ethnicities may overcome the tensions of
the past and begin a peaceful and sincere coexistence in the interests of enduring
peace, stability and economic growth; urges all countries to make further efforts to
come to terms with a difficult and troubled past;
5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the
governments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and its entities, and the governments and parliaments of the countries of
the western Balkans.