Turkish foreign ministry honors Srebrenica genocide victims

ANKARA

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on July 13 held a ceremony in Ankara to mark the 31st anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, honoring the victims of the 1995 massacre.

The ceremony was attended by Deputy Foreign Minister and Director for EU Affairs Mehmet Kemal Bozay and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ambassador to Ankara Mirsada Colakovic.

Bozay recalled that the U.N. General Assembly designated July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica on May 23, 2024.

He also said Türkiye observes July 11 as Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Day under a presidential circular and that ceremonies have been held at the ministry since 2024.

Bozay said the participants had gathered to preserve the truth, support the pursuit of justice and pass on the memory of Srebrenica to future generations.

“The Srebrenica genocide is one of the darkest chapters not only in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in the shared memory of Europe and all humanity,” he said.

He said the killing of Bosniaks in a U.N.-declared safe area on July 11, 1995, showed the destructive consequences of hatred, discrimination and extreme nationalism.

Bozay said rulings by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had established that what happened in Srebrenica was genocide.

He warned that denying this fact or presenting it as a “symbolic victory” harmed humanity’s collective conscience.

“The newly identified victims buried in Potocari every year remind us once again that justice, even when delayed, remains a responsibility that must never be abandoned,” he said.

Bozay also pointed to rising hate speech, xenophobia, Islamophobia and ethnic discrimination in different parts of the world, saying humanity had not drawn the necessary lessons from the past.

He said Türkiye continued to view peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of the main pillars of stability in the Balkans.

“Our support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order is principled and unwavering,” Bozay said.

He added that Bosnia and Herzegovina needed stronger institutions, more dialogue and reinforced mutual trust, not new divisions.

Colakovic thanked Türkiye for its support for Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying the joint commemoration was one of the most meaningful examples of that support.

She said more than 8,000 people were killed in Srebrenica 31 years ago because they were Bosniak Muslims, despite the town having been declared a U.N. safe area.

She also criticized efforts to portray perpetrators as heroes or to downplay the scale of the crime.

“Genocide denial is not freedom of expression; it is the continuation of the crime by other means,” Colakovic said.