The memory of Srebrenica is a call for accountability, an uncompromising recognition of genocide and the punishment of all those responsible for that heinous act, the European Union said.
Today, on the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Srebrenica Genocide, a delegation from that coalition laid a wreath at the monument to the victims of the 1991-2001 wars in the former Yugoslavia, in Pobrežje in Podgorica.
"The memory of Srebrenica is a call for accountability, for uncompromising recognition of genocide and the condemnation and punishment of all those responsible for this heinous act," the statement said.
This, as the European Union said, is not only a warning, but also a reminder of the necessity and obligation of joint action against hatred, retrograde ideologies and evil.
"Justice for Srebrenica is justice for the entire region, because only on the truth and a substantive confrontation with the past can we build a better future for generations to come," the statement said.
The President of the Social Democrats of Montenegro (SD) and one of the leaders of the European Union said "our attitude towards Srebrenica is the litmus test of our conscience."
"It shows who we are as people, how valuable we are as politicians, and what kind of society we want our children to live in," said Šehović in a statement marking the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.
"Today, July 11, we silently bow to the shadows of more than eight thousand innocently murdered Bosniaks in Srebrenica. The horrific genocide committed against them exactly 30 years ago is not just the wound of one people. It is the wound of humanity, the wound of Europe, the wound of all of us who believe in justice, truth and basic human dignity," Šehović emphasized.
He added that marking this day is not just a commemoration, but a civilizational obligation.
"It is a moral compass that separates people from non-people, politics from propaganda, and statesmen from those who use their position to remain silent, to avoid the truth, and to minimize the gravity of the crime committed. Therefore, while we express our respect for the victims and their families, we must clearly state: the genocide in Srebrenica was a planned crime. It did not happen by itself. There were armies, ideologies, and politics behind it," Šehović states.
He further pointed out that retrograde ideologies still have their place in the top echelons of government today.
"Unfortunately, clerical nationalist ideologies, three decades later, have their political followers at the very top of the Montenegrin government. That is a devastating truth. The only thing more devastating than that is the hypocrisy of those who lay flowers in Potočari today, and tomorrow continue to sit in the government with their partners who not only deny this genocide, but also celebrate the Srebrenica criminals. That is not reconciliation. That is trading conscience for an office. Such people cannot be worthy representatives of either their people or European Montenegro," said Šehović.
"Our attitude towards Srebrenica is a litmus test of our conscience. It shows who we are as people, how valuable we are as politicians and what kind of society we want our children to live in. That is why, today and every day, we remember. We remember. We name. And we fight. Against forgetting, against lies and against attempts to relativize the crime and present the perpetrators as role models. Silence is cowardice, and any denial is complicity," says Šehović.
He said that Srebrenica is not just history, but a test of humanity.
"That test is ongoing. We take it every day when we speak or remain silent, when we choose truth or benefit, when we decide to stand with the victims or hide behind untruths. We fail that test not by mistake, but by decision. We fail when we consciously turn our heads, when we call a crime a misunderstanding and a criminal a hero. Then we not only lose face. We lose ourselves. And what we leave to our children," concluded Šehović.
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