Today the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham lights this candle to commemorate the thousands who were killed in Srebrenica
On 15 January 2009 the European Parliament passed the following resolution:
The European Parliament calls on the Council and the Commission to commemorate appropriately the anniversary of 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 countries of the western Balkans to do the same.”
Statement from Cllr Cowan, Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, on Srebrenica Memorial Day 2021
This year, 11 July marks the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide in which over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered in the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War. The anniversary gives us an opportunity to remember those who died and to reaffirm our commitment to stand up against hatred and prejudice in all its forms.
This year’s Srebrenica Memorial Day Theme is “Rebuilding Lives”. In albeit very different ways, the Covid pandemic has caused many of us to reflect on how we can rebuild a more compassionate and humane society. Given the appalling events in Srebrenica it is remarkable and inspiring to learn about how those communities rebuilt their lives, with dignity and humanity, after facing horrors we can’t even image.
On behalf of the London borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and in memory of the 8,372 men who died in Srebrenica and the families they left behind, I would like to reaffirm our commitment to eliminating discrimination and hatred and to building stronger, safer and more tolerant communities.
