Residents of Sarajevo applaud UN vote to mark 1995 genocide annually

(23 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina - 23 May 2024
1. Wide of street in Sarajevo
2. Mid of Bosnian and Sarajevo flag on building of national library
3. Residents inside hall, watching UN from New York
4. People gathered in the hall watching UN transmission
5. Serbian president talking on tv, while people watch
6. Mid of people watching
7. Close of woman watching
8. Close of badge, symbol of Srebrenica, on lady's shirt
9. Various of people watching
14. Close of results of the vote on screen
15. Wide of people applauding
16. SOUNDBITE (Bosnian) Husein Muratspahic, resident of Sarajevo:
"Finally, the time has come for people who are victims to get their justice. No one can belittle them or deny what happened in Srebrenica anymore."
17. Close of Srebrenica symbol badge
18. Palestinian ambassador to Bosnia, Rezeq Namoora, sitting in the front row
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Rezeq Namoora, Palestinian ambassador to Bosnia:
"Of course, I'm glad for the success of the vote for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because genocide in Srebrenica is very clear. That is genocide. However, I must congratulate the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, our brothers and friends, our sisters here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and I hope in the future, it will happen about the genocide in Palestine. Especially in Gaza. And in many places also, not only in Gaza."
20. Wide of building of national library of Bosnia and Herzegovina
STORYLINE:
Residents of Sarajevo gathered on Thursday to watch the UN general assembly session, where the Srebrenica genocide resolution was passed.

The war victims associations along with ambassadors from various countries have joined in to congratulate the United Nations for adoption of this resolution.

"Finally, the time has come for people who are victims to get their justice. No one can belittle them or deny what happened in Srebrenica anymore," said Husein Muratspahic, a resident of Sarajevo.

"I'm glad for the success of the vote for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because genocide in Srebrenica is very clear. That is genocide," said Rezeq Namoora, the Palestinian ambassador to Bosnia, adding that he hopes similar actions will be taken for other genocides, "especially in Gaza."

The United Nations approved a resolution Thursday establishing an annual day to commemorate the 1995 genocide of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs, a move vehemently opposed by Serbs who fear it will brand them all as “genocidal” supporters of the mass killing.

The vote in the 193-member General Assembly was 84-19 with 68 nations abstaining, a reflection of concerns among many countries about the impact of the vote on reconciliation efforts in deeply divided Bosnia.

The resolution designates July 11 as the “International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica,” to be observed annually starting in two months.

The resolution, sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, doesn’t mention Serbia as the culprit, but that didn’t stop the intense lobbying campaign for a “no” vote by the Bosnian Serb president, Milorad Dodik, and the populist president of neighboring Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic.

On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serbs overran a U.N.-protected safe area in Srebrenica. They separated at least 8,000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys from their wives, mothers and sisters and slaughtered them. Those who tried to escape were chased through the woods and over the mountains around the town.


Both Serbia and Bosnian Serbs have denied that genocide happened in Srebrenica although this has been established by two U.N. courts.



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