The authorities of the US District of Columbia (Washington DC) and the federal states of Maryland and Connecticut issued proclamations declaring July 11 as the Day of Remembrance of the Genocide in Srebrenica.
The proclamations were delivered in the premises of the Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations in New York, after the official commemorative program on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica.
The documents were handed over to Emina Sinanović, a survivor of the genocide and representative of the Mother Srebrenica Association, and Hasan Hasanović, a representative of the Srebrenica Memorial Center – Potočari and also a survivor of the genocide.
The process of securing and coordinating the proclamations was led by the Maryland Bosnia and Herzegovina Exchange Council (MBHEC), in cooperation with US state and local institutions, leaders of the Bosnian community in the US, survivor organizations and partners in Washington, Maryland and Connecticut.
The proclamation of the District of Columbia was presented by Senija Mehmedović, who survived the genocide in Srebrenica. Maryland’s proclamation was presented by Selver Sulejmanović, also a survivor of genocide and a resident of that federal state, while Connecticut’s proclamation was presented by Professor David Pettigrew from Yale University and Southern Connecticut State University, on the recommendation of the Association of Srebrenica Genocide Survivors who live in Connecticut.
As announced, the proclamations represent public statements of the institutions of these American jurisdictions and are addressed to citizens, survivors and victims’ families with the aim of preserving the memory of Srebrenica, honoring the victims and supporting education, truth and responsibility.
The statement reminds that the proclamations were delivered in the context of the decision of the General Assembly of the United Nations declaring July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide.
MBHEC co-founder Adnan Hadrović thanked the authorities of Washington, Maryland and Connecticut, as well as the Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, elected officials, survivors’ organizations and partners who participated in this process.
“The importance of these recognitions is precisely in their public character, because the American state and local institutions clearly name Srebrenica and introduce the memory of it into the civil life of their communities. These proclamations are an American civil act of remembrance, in the interest of all nations and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The proclamations not only honor the victims and stand with the survivors and the Mother of Srebrenica, but also clearly speak of responsibility for the truth, for the dignified burial of all victims, and for rejecting any attempt to glorify criminals,” said Hadrovic.
