Türkiye recently hosted a formal commemoration ceremony to mark the 31st anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The event, held at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, brought together Deputy Foreign Minister and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Ambassador to Ankara, Mirsada Colakovic, to reaffirm support for the Balkan nation.
During the proceedings, Ambassador Bozay highlighted that the UN General Assembly officially designated July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica on May 23, 2024. In alignment with this, a presidential circular in Türkiye mandates that July 11 is observed as Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Day, with official commemorations held at the ministry since 2024. Bozay noted that the assembly serves to preserve the truth, support justice, and pass the memory of the event to future generations as part of humanity's collective conscience.
Addressing the gravity of the 1995 atrocities, which took place in a designated UN safe area, Bozay stated that the events remain one of the darkest chapters in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in the shared memory of Europe. He emphasized that the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia have both legally recognized the massacre as genocide. He warned that denying this truth or framing the events as a symbolic victory undermines the collective conscience of humanity, noting that the tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the destructive nature of hatred, discrimination, and extreme nationalism.
Furthermore, Bozay reiterated that Türkiye views peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a cornerstone of stability in the Balkans, pledging continued support for the country's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and constitutional order. Ambassador Colakovic expressed her gratitude for the principled support from Türkiye, describing the joint commemoration as a profound example of solidarity. She reminded attendees that more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed in Srebrenica despite its status as a UN safe area. Colakovic concluded by condemning genocide denial, stating that such efforts are not an exercise of free speech but rather a continuation of the original crime by other means, particularly when perpetrators are glorified as heroes or the scale of the atrocities is downplayed.
