Serbian Activists Mark 27th Anniversary of Srebrenica Genocide

Activists lit candles on Monday evening in central Belgrade to pay their respects to victims of the July 1995 Srebrenica genocide.

The memorial event was held in a park between the Serbia presidency and the city assembly, with police providing security. However, no counter-demonstrators attempted to disrupt it.

Activists also urged the authorities to name July 11 Remembrance Day of the Victims of the Genocide in Srebrenica. Current official policy is to deny that the 1995 massacres of Bosniaks by Bosnian Serb forces constituted genocide, despite the verdicts of international courts.

Sofija Todorovic, the director of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights NGO - one of the organisers of the event - said that it is "very important that we use Srebrenica as a symbol of something that must never happen again to anyone".

The lighting of candles was preceded by the launch of a digital artwork by Mia David called 'Life is What the Dead Dream Of', which superimposes the names of victims of Srebrenica genocide and their ages over the Serbian parliament building.

David's artwork won a competition in 2021 entitled 'It Shouldn't Happen Again to Anyone'. She told Al Jazeera Balkans last year that it serves to "avoid all the usual obstacles, such as obtaining permits to gather, occupying space and dealing with right-wing groups".

Srebrenica genocide victims' names virtually 'written' on the Serbian parliament building in a digital artwork by Mia David. Screenshot: BIRN.

Activists light candles for Srebrenica genocide victims in Belgrade. Photo: BIRN.

Photo: BIRN

Activists hold a banner with the slogan 'It Shouldn't Happen Again to Anyone'. Photo: BIRN.

Photo: BIRN.