(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The brutal massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica 20 years ago was commemorated Monday by European Parliament President Martin Schulz in his opening address and in a minute's silence.
"This act of genocide was one of the worst war crimes in Europe since World War II. It should never have happened, and our collective failure to prevent it shames us," said Schulz, paying tribute to the victims and conveying Parliament's deepest sympathy to their families.
"We shall never forget Srebrenica, because there can be no reconciliation until suffering and pain are acknowledged," said the President, noting how poisoned rhetoric and populist incitement of ethnic cleansing had paved the way for a redrawing of borders that denied the multi-ethnic and multi-faith roots of the Balkans.
European Parliament Vice-President Ulrike Lunacek will represent the EP at a commemoration ceremony in Srebenica on 11 July.
Meanwhile, Afzal Khan, British MEP and Vice-Chair, Security and Defence committee in the EP, in a statement said "throughout the world, the 11th July is marked as a grim reminder of man's inhumanity to man. It was the worst crime in Europe since the Second World War, and it shames the world that it failed to protect innocent people against violence and allowed this genocide to take place.
"We must do our utmost to ensure that the lessons of such events are fully learnt and renew our determination never to let forces of prejudice, hatred and evil go unchecked. The EU, as the greatest peace and reconciliation project ever, can serve as an example of what can be achieved," said Khan who is also a spokesperson for Bosnia-Herzegovina for the Socialists and Democrats group in the EP.
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