BiH marks 21st anniversary of Srebrenica massacre

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Monday marked here the 21st anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre with a solemn ceremony and a funeral for 127 newly-identified victims.

Thousands of people gathered at Potocari Memorial Center, several kilometers from Srebrenica, to mark the massacre of some 7,000 Muslim males, the worst in Europe since World War II.

The ceremony was also attended by senior BiH officials and diplomats from dozens of countries.

Bakir Izetbegovic, Chairman of the BiH Presidency, said for the sake of reconciliation, justice must be reached. "We must reach justice because without it there is no reconciliation and confidence building. Justice is a prerequisite for forgiveness," he said.

Carmel Agius, president of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, said that the international tribunal's verdicts served as "a reminder of barbarism," but more efforts to achieve reconciliation were necessary.

"Justice itself is not sufficient. Processes bringing the three peoples (Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs) closer to each other are needed," Agius said.

Srebrenica, located in eastern BiH, was a UN-protected Muslim enclave when it was overrun on July 11, 1995 by Bosnian Serb forces. Some 7,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in and near Srebrenica by Bosnian Serb forces in the following several days.

So far, 6,377 victims were buried at the Memorial Center in Potocari. After Monday's collective funeral, there will be a total of 6,504 identified and buried victims, reported Fena, the Federal News Agency. Endit