Munira Subasic, president of the Association “Movement of Mothers of the Srebrenica and Žepa Enclaves”, after meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres, said from New York that Guterres will visit Srebrenica this year.
Yesterday in New York, Guterres met with representatives of the victims’ association and the mothers of Srebrenica. Subasic, who attended the meeting, said that she and Guterres discussed a total of nine points.
“There were nine points we discussed, we presented our problems that we face as victims of genocide. We talked about the judgments made by the Hague Tribunal. We know that the Hague Tribunal completed the mission as it should, thanks to Brammertz (Chief Prosecutor of the Hague Tribunal, Serge) and others. We asked how he plans to protect the verdicts that are constantly denied and glorified by war criminals, we asked what he will do about it,” said Subašić.
She stated that during the meeting, among other things, they requested and supported the proposal of Denis Bećirović, a member of the BiH Presidency, who had previously requested the UN to transfer the archives of the Hague Tribunal to Sarajevo. They also asked for a memorial room dedicated to the genocide in Srebrenica, as well as the establishment of a fund for victims’ reparations.
“I asked for it to be a fund for all the victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Subašić.
When asked if she was satisfied with the Secretary General’s answers and what was her general impression from the meeting in New York, Subasic said:
“While I was talking, I looked into his eyes, he was writing everything, as were his colleagues. He gave us full support and answered each of our questions individually. He didn’t look at the time, we even talked longer than planned. They called him several times, but he didn’t hang up. That meant a lot to us. The meeting lasted almost an hour.”
She said that the most important thing for the victims’ families is that the judgments be protected.
“We asked the Secretary General to initiate a vote on the resolution (on Srebrenica) again in the UN General Assembly, because the Security Council failed to do so before, but the General Assembly can,” said Subašić, noting that she was satisfied with the meeting, because Guterres promised to give every support.
She invited the Secretary General to visit Srebrenica, and when asked if they could expect him at this year’s commemoration and funeral on July 11 in Potočari, she answered:
“This year we may not expect (coming to the funeral on July 11), but he (Guterres) will not wait for July 11, he will visit Srebrenica this year.”
She reminded that Guterres had previously visited Srebrenica as a representative of the Government of Portugal, and that he would certainly not allow him to finish his mission as UN Secretary General without being in Potočari.
At the end, she added that during the meeting she praised the Prosecutor’s Office in The Hague headed by Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz, especially in the context of the latest verdict against Simatović and Stanišić.
Representatives of the victims’ association remain in New York today and tomorrow.
In addition to Guterres, they also met with the UN special advisor for the prevention of genocide, today they are expected to meet with the head of general affairs, and tomorrow with the political advisor.
