site.btaAlliance for Rights and Freedoms Commemorates 30th Srebrenica Anniversary

The group of the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF) Friday read out a declaration in Parliament commemorating the victims of Srebrenica. The document read by Ahmed Vranchev said: "We must never allow genocide against any people, anywhere in the world."

The ARF said: "On July 11, we commemorate one of the darkest days in modern European history, the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide of 1995, when more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered brutally as the international community looked on. Today, we honour the memory of the victims and stand in solidarity with their families. This tragedy remains etched in Europe's conscience as a painful reminder of the consequences of hatred, nationalism and the failure of the international community to act in the face of crimes against humanity."

"In this context, and with the same sense of human and moral responsibility, we cannot remain silent about what is happening in Gaza. In the 21st century, innocent civilians - women, children and old people - are being killed by bombs. Hospitals, schools and refugee camps have become targets. The destruction of entire communities, the systematic taking of human lives, and the lack of protection for the most vulnerable are crimes against humanity which cannot be justified by any military, political or national argument," said the declaration.

Speaking on behalf of ARF, Vranchev urged the international community, including Bulgaria, "to take an active stance for the immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the establishment of an international mechanism to investigate grave violations of international humanitarian law because history teaches us that silence is also complicity."