Thousands march for 30th anniversary of Bosnia massacre
The 30th anniversary of the mass killing of more than 8000 men and boys from the Bosniak ethnic group, made up primarily of Muslims, in a UN-protected safe area in Srebrenica by Bosnian Serbs, was also commemorated at a sombre event at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The annual 100km march retraces in reverse a route taken by the Bosniak men and boys who were massacred as they tried to flee Srebrenica after Bosnian Serb forces captured it in the closing months of the country's 1992-95 interethnic war.
"I am here today to support my son, Sultan, as he sets off on the march," said Amir Kulagic, who was among those who took the route in 1995 and recalled that his "ordeal lasted for seven days and eight nights".
Kulagic said he was proud his son and his nephew decided to retrace the path but also sad because he could not accompany them due to poor health.
Also joining the march was Nirha Music, now a US citizen, born after the war to a mother who survived Srebrenica.
"We are walking to see what our people went through," Music said.
"It is not easy; all I can think about is, this is how it was when they were killing us and when they were getting us together to kill us," she added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations and the world failed the people of Srebrenica 30 years ago, not as a result of "an accident of history" but because of "policies, propaganda, and international indifference".
"We must ensure the voices of Srebrenica survivors continue to be heard - countering denial, distortion and revisionism," Guterres said in a video message to the General Assembly. "After Srbrenica, the world said, once again, 'Never Again'."
But the UN chief warned hate speech is again fuelling discrimination, extremism and violence, and war criminals are being glorified. He called on all 193 UN member nations to prevent a return of atrocity crimes and to confront genocide denial with truth and impunity with justice.
Denis Bećirović, the Bosniak member of the country's three-person presidency, criticised the leaders of neighbouring Serbia for denying that a genocide took place - despite rulings by two international courts. Their refusal, he said, is "illogical, immoral and unacceptable".
"The leadership of Serbia does not want to face the truth and to reject the ideology and politics that led to genocide," he said, pointing to convicted war criminals that they have made heroes.
"We do not seek revenge," Bećirović told the assembly. "We seek truth and justice."
Most of the massacre victims were hunted down and summarily executed as they tried to flee through forests. Their bodies were ploughed into hastily dug mass graves and later excavated with bulldozers and scattered among other burial sites to hide evidence of the crime.
Newly identified victims are reburied each year on July 11 - the anniversary of the day the killing began in 1995 - in the vast and still expanding memorial cemetery outside Srebrenica.
The General Assembly adopted a resolution in May 2024 over vehement Serbian objections to commemorate the genocide every year on the anniversary.
So far, the remains of more than 6700 people have been found and buried there. The remains of seven more victims, recently identified through DNA analysis, will be buried there on Friday.
Munira Subašić, president of the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica who lost 22 members of her family including her husband and youngest son, told the UN diplomats it's been very difficult for 30 years "to carry the pain in your soul", and the denial of the genocide of Muslims by the Bosnian Serbs.
They were killed in a UN zone that was supposed to be safe, she said, and the United Nations, the world and Europe "were just watching in silence".
Subašić urged UN member nations to join the Mothers of Srebrenica to fight against the denial of the genocide and injustice, and create a more peaceful world for children today. "Justice is on our side, and we're going to win," she said.
Nearly 7000 people have embarked on a three-day peace march through the forests of eastern Bosnia in memory of the thousands of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe's only acknowledged genocide since World War II.
The 30th anniversary of the mass killing of more than 8000 men and boys from the Bosniak ethnic group, made up primarily of Muslims, in a UN-protected safe area in Srebrenica by Bosnian Serbs, was also commemorated at a sombre event at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The annual 100km march retraces in reverse a route taken by the Bosniak men and boys who were massacred as they tried to flee Srebrenica after Bosnian Serb forces captured it in the closing months of the country's 1992-95 interethnic war.
"I am here today to support my son, Sultan, as he sets off on the march," said Amir Kulagic, who was among those who took the route in 1995 and recalled that his "ordeal lasted for seven days and eight nights".
Kulagic said he was proud his son and his nephew decided to retrace the path but also sad because he could not accompany them due to poor health.
Also joining the march was Nirha Music, now a US citizen, born after the war to a mother who survived Srebrenica.
"We are walking to see what our people went through," Music said.
"It is not easy; all I can think about is, this is how it was when they were killing us and when they were getting us together to kill us," she added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations and the world failed the people of Srebrenica 30 years ago, not as a result of "an accident of history" but because of "policies, propaganda, and international indifference".
"We must ensure the voices of Srebrenica survivors continue to be heard - countering denial, distortion and revisionism," Guterres said in a video message to the General Assembly. "After Srbrenica, the world said, once again, 'Never Again'."
But the UN chief warned hate speech is again fuelling discrimination, extremism and violence, and war criminals are being glorified. He called on all 193 UN member nations to prevent a return of atrocity crimes and to confront genocide denial with truth and impunity with justice.
Denis Bećirović, the Bosniak member of the country's three-person presidency, criticised the leaders of neighbouring Serbia for denying that a genocide took place - despite rulings by two international courts. Their refusal, he said, is "illogical, immoral and unacceptable".
"The leadership of Serbia does not want to face the truth and to reject the ideology and politics that led to genocide," he said, pointing to convicted war criminals that they have made heroes.
"We do not seek revenge," Bećirović told the assembly. "We seek truth and justice."
Most of the massacre victims were hunted down and summarily executed as they tried to flee through forests. Their bodies were ploughed into hastily dug mass graves and later excavated with bulldozers and scattered among other burial sites to hide evidence of the crime.
Newly identified victims are reburied each year on July 11 - the anniversary of the day the killing began in 1995 - in the vast and still expanding memorial cemetery outside Srebrenica.
The General Assembly adopted a resolution in May 2024 over vehement Serbian objections to commemorate the genocide every year on the anniversary.
So far, the remains of more than 6700 people have been found and buried there. The remains of seven more victims, recently identified through DNA analysis, will be buried there on Friday.
Munira Subašić, president of the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica who lost 22 members of her family including her husband and youngest son, told the UN diplomats it's been very difficult for 30 years "to carry the pain in your soul", and the denial of the genocide of Muslims by the Bosnian Serbs.
They were killed in a UN zone that was supposed to be safe, she said, and the United Nations, the world and Europe "were just watching in silence".
Subašić urged UN member nations to join the Mothers of Srebrenica to fight against the denial of the genocide and injustice, and create a more peaceful world for children today. "Justice is on our side, and we're going to win," she said.
Nearly 7000 people have embarked on a three-day peace march through the forests of eastern Bosnia in memory of the thousands of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe's only acknowledged genocide since World War II.
The 30th anniversary of the mass killing of more than 8000 men and boys from the Bosniak ethnic group, made up primarily of Muslims, in a UN-protected safe area in Srebrenica by Bosnian Serbs, was also commemorated at a sombre event at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The annual 100km march retraces in reverse a route taken by the Bosniak men and boys who were massacred as they tried to flee Srebrenica after Bosnian Serb forces captured it in the closing months of the country's 1992-95 interethnic war.
"I am here today to support my son, Sultan, as he sets off on the march," said Amir Kulagic, who was among those who took the route in 1995 and recalled that his "ordeal lasted for seven days and eight nights".
Kulagic said he was proud his son and his nephew decided to retrace the path but also sad because he could not accompany them due to poor health.
Also joining the march was Nirha Music, now a US citizen, born after the war to a mother who survived Srebrenica.
"We are walking to see what our people went through," Music said.
"It is not easy; all I can think about is, this is how it was when they were killing us and when they were getting us together to kill us," she added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations and the world failed the people of Srebrenica 30 years ago, not as a result of "an accident of history" but because of "policies, propaganda, and international indifference".
"We must ensure the voices of Srebrenica survivors continue to be heard - countering denial, distortion and revisionism," Guterres said in a video message to the General Assembly. "After Srbrenica, the world said, once again, 'Never Again'."
But the UN chief warned hate speech is again fuelling discrimination, extremism and violence, and war criminals are being glorified. He called on all 193 UN member nations to prevent a return of atrocity crimes and to confront genocide denial with truth and impunity with justice.
Denis Bećirović, the Bosniak member of the country's three-person presidency, criticised the leaders of neighbouring Serbia for denying that a genocide took place - despite rulings by two international courts. Their refusal, he said, is "illogical, immoral and unacceptable".
"The leadership of Serbia does not want to face the truth and to reject the ideology and politics that led to genocide," he said, pointing to convicted war criminals that they have made heroes.
"We do not seek revenge," Bećirović told the assembly. "We seek truth and justice."
Most of the massacre victims were hunted down and summarily executed as they tried to flee through forests. Their bodies were ploughed into hastily dug mass graves and later excavated with bulldozers and scattered among other burial sites to hide evidence of the crime.
Newly identified victims are reburied each year on July 11 - the anniversary of the day the killing began in 1995 - in the vast and still expanding memorial cemetery outside Srebrenica.
The General Assembly adopted a resolution in May 2024 over vehement Serbian objections to commemorate the genocide every year on the anniversary.
So far, the remains of more than 6700 people have been found and buried there. The remains of seven more victims, recently identified through DNA analysis, will be buried there on Friday.
Munira Subašić, president of the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica who lost 22 members of her family including her husband and youngest son, told the UN diplomats it's been very difficult for 30 years "to carry the pain in your soul", and the denial of the genocide of Muslims by the Bosnian Serbs.
They were killed in a UN zone that was supposed to be safe, she said, and the United Nations, the world and Europe "were just watching in silence".
Subašić urged UN member nations to join the Mothers of Srebrenica to fight against the denial of the genocide and injustice, and create a more peaceful world for children today. "Justice is on our side, and we're going to win," she said.
Nearly 7000 people have embarked on a three-day peace march through the forests of eastern Bosnia in memory of the thousands of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe's only acknowledged genocide since World War II.
The 30th anniversary of the mass killing of more than 8000 men and boys from the Bosniak ethnic group, made up primarily of Muslims, in a UN-protected safe area in Srebrenica by Bosnian Serbs, was also commemorated at a sombre event at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The annual 100km march retraces in reverse a route taken by the Bosniak men and boys who were massacred as they tried to flee Srebrenica after Bosnian Serb forces captured it in the closing months of the country's 1992-95 interethnic war.
"I am here today to support my son, Sultan, as he sets off on the march," said Amir Kulagic, who was among those who took the route in 1995 and recalled that his "ordeal lasted for seven days and eight nights".
Kulagic said he was proud his son and his nephew decided to retrace the path but also sad because he could not accompany them due to poor health.
Also joining the march was Nirha Music, now a US citizen, born after the war to a mother who survived Srebrenica.
"We are walking to see what our people went through," Music said.
"It is not easy; all I can think about is, this is how it was when they were killing us and when they were getting us together to kill us," she added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations and the world failed the people of Srebrenica 30 years ago, not as a result of "an accident of history" but because of "policies, propaganda, and international indifference".
"We must ensure the voices of Srebrenica survivors continue to be heard - countering denial, distortion and revisionism," Guterres said in a video message to the General Assembly. "After Srbrenica, the world said, once again, 'Never Again'."
But the UN chief warned hate speech is again fuelling discrimination, extremism and violence, and war criminals are being glorified. He called on all 193 UN member nations to prevent a return of atrocity crimes and to confront genocide denial with truth and impunity with justice.
Denis Bećirović, the Bosniak member of the country's three-person presidency, criticised the leaders of neighbouring Serbia for denying that a genocide took place - despite rulings by two international courts. Their refusal, he said, is "illogical, immoral and unacceptable".
"The leadership of Serbia does not want to face the truth and to reject the ideology and politics that led to genocide," he said, pointing to convicted war criminals that they have made heroes.
"We do not seek revenge," Bećirović told the assembly. "We seek truth and justice."
Most of the massacre victims were hunted down and summarily executed as they tried to flee through forests. Their bodies were ploughed into hastily dug mass graves and later excavated with bulldozers and scattered among other burial sites to hide evidence of the crime.
Newly identified victims are reburied each year on July 11 - the anniversary of the day the killing began in 1995 - in the vast and still expanding memorial cemetery outside Srebrenica.
The General Assembly adopted a resolution in May 2024 over vehement Serbian objections to commemorate the genocide every year on the anniversary.
So far, the remains of more than 6700 people have been found and buried there. The remains of seven more victims, recently identified through DNA analysis, will be buried there on Friday.
Munira Subašić, president of the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica who lost 22 members of her family including her husband and youngest son, told the UN diplomats it's been very difficult for 30 years "to carry the pain in your soul", and the denial of the genocide of Muslims by the Bosnian Serbs.
They were killed in a UN zone that was supposed to be safe, she said, and the United Nations, the world and Europe "were just watching in silence".
Subašić urged UN member nations to join the Mothers of Srebrenica to fight against the denial of the genocide and injustice, and create a more peaceful world for children today. "Justice is on our side, and we're going to win," she said.
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Dozens of demonstrators have gathered outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur to protest against the proposed appointment of Nick Adams, a self-styled "alpha male" influencer, as the United States' envoy to Malaysia. President Donald Trump last week named outspoken author and political commentator Adams as the White House's nominee for US ambassador to Malaysia. Adams, a naturalised US citizen originally from Australia, has cultivated a brash social media persona, using a macho, "alpha male" branding to weigh in on cultural issues and appeal to an audience of mainly young men. But it is his posts harshly criticising Islam and showing support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza that has angered Muslims in Malaysia, triggering a rare protest against a foreign diplomatic appointment in the Southeast Asian country. 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Dozens of demonstrators have gathered outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur to protest against the proposed appointment of Nick Adams, a self-styled "alpha male" influencer, as the United States' envoy to Malaysia. President Donald Trump last week named outspoken author and political commentator Adams as the White House's nominee for US ambassador to Malaysia. Adams, a naturalised US citizen originally from Australia, has cultivated a brash social media persona, using a macho, "alpha male" branding to weigh in on cultural issues and appeal to an audience of mainly young men. But it is his posts harshly criticising Islam and showing support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza that has angered Muslims in Malaysia, triggering a rare protest against a foreign diplomatic appointment in the Southeast Asian country. The outcry comes at a critical time for Malaysia, which has until August 1 to reach a trade deal with Washington to avoid a steep 25 per cent tariff imposed on its exports to the United States. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters on Friday it was too early in the process to decide on Adams' appointment but his government would give the matter due consideration. "At the same time, we will seek to protect the good relations between Malaysia and the United States," Anwar said, according to a recording of his remarks provided by his office to Reuters. Demonstrators led by youth leaders from Anwar's ruling coalition submitted a memorandum of protest to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur asking for Trump to reconsider his nomination of Adams. The memorandum cited "divisive rhetoric" used by Adams, and characterised his postings as insensitive towards Malaysia's multicultural society. Malaysia, which has a majority of mostly Muslim ethnic Malays alongside significant ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities, has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause. "An ambassador's task is to be the bridge between two countries and we don't want that person to be someone who destroys that bridge instead," said Muhammad Izuan Ahmad Kasim, a member of Anwar's People's Justice Party. The embassy and Adams' office did not respond to requests for comment. The protesters also called on Malaysia's government to exercise its right under international norms to reject Adams' proposed appointment. Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said on Tuesday the cabinet had not yet received any formal notice of Adams' appointment to Malaysia. Adams' nomination has not yet been approved, but he is widely expected to be confirmed by the Republican-held US Senate. Dozens of demonstrators have gathered outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur to protest against the proposed appointment of Nick Adams, a self-styled "alpha male" influencer, as the United States' envoy to Malaysia. President Donald Trump last week named outspoken author and political commentator Adams as the White House's nominee for US ambassador to Malaysia. Adams, a naturalised US citizen originally from Australia, has cultivated a brash social media persona, using a macho, "alpha male" branding to weigh in on cultural issues and appeal to an audience of mainly young men. But it is his posts harshly criticising Islam and showing support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza that has angered Muslims in Malaysia, triggering a rare protest against a foreign diplomatic appointment in the Southeast Asian country. The outcry comes at a critical time for Malaysia, which has until August 1 to reach a trade deal with Washington to avoid a steep 25 per cent tariff imposed on its exports to the United States. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters on Friday it was too early in the process to decide on Adams' appointment but his government would give the matter due consideration. "At the same time, we will seek to protect the good relations between Malaysia and the United States," Anwar said, according to a recording of his remarks provided by his office to Reuters. Demonstrators led by youth leaders from Anwar's ruling coalition submitted a memorandum of protest to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur asking for Trump to reconsider his nomination of Adams. The memorandum cited "divisive rhetoric" used by Adams, and characterised his postings as insensitive towards Malaysia's multicultural society. Malaysia, which has a majority of mostly Muslim ethnic Malays alongside significant ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities, has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause. "An ambassador's task is to be the bridge between two countries and we don't want that person to be someone who destroys that bridge instead," said Muhammad Izuan Ahmad Kasim, a member of Anwar's People's Justice Party. The embassy and Adams' office did not respond to requests for comment. The protesters also called on Malaysia's government to exercise its right under international norms to reject Adams' proposed appointment. Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said on Tuesday the cabinet had not yet received any formal notice of Adams' appointment to Malaysia. Adams' nomination has not yet been approved, but he is widely expected to be confirmed by the Republican-held US Senate.
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Malaysias protest Trump's 'alpha male' envoy nominee
Dozens of demonstrators have gathered outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur to protest against the proposed appointment of Nick Adams, a self-styled "alpha male" influencer, as the United States' envoy to Malaysia. President Donald Trump last week named outspoken author and political commentator Adams as the White House's nominee for US ambassador to Malaysia. Adams, a naturalised US citizen originally from Australia, has cultivated a brash social media persona, using a macho, "alpha male" branding to weigh in on cultural issues and appeal to an audience of mainly young men. But it is his posts harshly criticising Islam and showing support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza that has angered Muslims in Malaysia, triggering a rare protest against a foreign diplomatic appointment in the Southeast Asian country. The outcry comes at a critical time for Malaysia, which has until August 1 to reach a trade deal with Washington to avoid a steep 25 per cent tariff imposed on its exports to the United States. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told reporters on Friday it was too early in the process to decide on Adams' appointment but his government would give the matter due consideration. "At the same time, we will seek to protect the good relations between Malaysia and the United States," Anwar said, according to a recording of his remarks provided by his office to Reuters. Demonstrators led by youth leaders from Anwar's ruling coalition submitted a memorandum of protest to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur asking for Trump to reconsider his nomination of Adams. The memorandum cited "divisive rhetoric" used by Adams, and characterised his postings as insensitive towards Malaysia's multicultural society. Malaysia, which has a majority of mostly Muslim ethnic Malays alongside significant ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities, has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause. "An ambassador's task is to be the bridge between two countries and we don't want that person to be someone who destroys that bridge instead," said Muhammad Izuan Ahmad Kasim, a member of Anwar's People's Justice Party. The embassy and Adams' office did not respond to requests for comment. The protesters also called on Malaysia's government to exercise its right under international norms to reject Adams' proposed appointment. Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said on Tuesday the cabinet had not yet received any formal notice of Adams' appointment to Malaysia. Adams' nomination has not yet been approved, but he is widely expected to be confirmed by the Republican-held US Senate.
