The former US President, Bill Clinton, arrived in Srebrenica to pay tribute to the victims of the genocide that happened during his presidency of the USA.
Clinton, who officially opened the Memorial Center in Potočari on the 20th of September 2003, will address the surviving victims and the attendees on behalf of the delegation of the United States. Besides Clinton, Madeleine Albright, who served as the Secretary of State during the war in B&H and who was a strong advocate for intervention of USA in B&H, is part of delegation as well as the Ambassador of the US to B&H, Maureen E. Cormack, Senator Roger F. Wicker, senator Jeanne Shaheen, and members of the House of Representatives, Eliot L. Engel and Peter T. King.
“You were always a good person. I’m happy to have you, because you have always helped us, mothers of Srebrenica,” said Munira Subašić.
Foreign media are following this year’s burial and funeral with great interest, wondering whether Clinton will offer an apology for the most brutal crime committed after World War II, and for the failure of the United States to prevent the genocide.
“United States had more than a direct role in ending the war in B&H, back in 1995. US and NATO had more important obligation, a promise to the people of Srebrenica, the UN safe areas, NATO’s safe areas, as well as the other parts of B&H, to keep them safe from attacks, the ethnic cleansing and genocide. That promise was betrayed by secret agreement between Paris, London and Washington to stop the air strike. When the Holland peacekeepers in Srebrenica requested an air strike when Serbian paramilitary forces attacked with the clear intention, NATO aircraft remained grounded,” as written by the Huffington Post, which is wondering whether Clinton will apologize, as he did to the people of the Republic of Rwanda.
However, Clinton is known for trying to advocate the NATO attacks back in 1992, but the Europeans have not supported the idea.
“In the summer of 1992, when the televisions and printed media finally published horrifying stories about the Serbian camps in the north of Bosnia, I started to advocate the NATO strikes and America’s role in it. However, the Europeans decided to concentrate on putting an end to the violence. During my first meeting with French President Francois Mitterrand, he made it very clear that he was much closer to the Serbs than me, and less willing to see Muslims leading the united Bosnia, “said Clinton, adding that the agreement in Dayton was “a bitter pill for all sides, but necessary to stop the war.”
(Source: klix.ba)
