‘A shadow across generations’: Ceremonies mark 30th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide
Ceremonies took place across Europe on Friday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. Bosnian ambassador Erol Avdovic was present at the inauguration of a commemorative plaque in Rue de Bosnie in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Gilles.
On 11 July 1995, during the Bosnian War, Serbs led by General Ratko Mladic forced entry to the city of Srebrenica with tanks. They killed 8,000 Muslim men and boys and deported thousands of women and children.
Mladic was later tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and remains in prison. Both the International Court of Justice and the ICTY have formally recognised the killings as genocide.
Avdovic welcomed the commemoration in Brussels. “With the plaque, we commemorate not only Bosnian history, but also European history,” he said.
“Srebrenica was the last genocide on European soil. We must make sure that the streets become an open classroom for every generation to commemorate Srebrenica.”
The atrocity took place despite the town being under the protection of more than 400 Dutch UN soldiers. Dutch Foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp addressed a crowd of thousands at a ceremony in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday and a large gathering took place in The Hague, where an official memorial is planned.
Seven newly identified victims, including two 19-year-olds, were due to be laid to rest in a collective funeral on Friday near Srebrenica, next to more than 6,000 victims already buried there.
Meanwhile, European leaders warned against denial of the genocide. “There is no place in Europe for denying genocide, revisionism or glorifying those who were responsible for it,” European Council president Antonio Costa told a ceremony in Srebrenica.
"There is no place in Europe for denying genocide, revisionism or glorifying those who were responsible for it"
President Milorad Dodik of Republika Srpska, the Serbian entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has repeatedly argued that the Serbs did not commit genocide in Srebrenica.
At a commemoration in the German parliament on Friday, the far-right AfD party also questioned the genocide. MP Alexander Wolf called the use of the term “political”, while party colleague Martin Sichert said “Srebrenica warns us to end multiculturalism before it is too late”. Their statements were condemned by the other parties.
Darkest chapter
“Some events in history cast a shadow that stretches across generations. The genocide in Srebrenica is one of them. It stands among the darkest chapters in Europe’s collective memory,” Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
“We acknowledge our past and recognise our responsibility for failing to prevent and stop the genocide. We will also never allow history to be rewritten,” she said. “We firmly reject and condemn any denial, distortion, or minimisation of the Srebrenica genocide, as well as the glorification of war criminals.”
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been an EU candidate country since December 2022 and has been conducting accession negotiations since 2024. However, internal divisions and ethnic tensions in the country are complicating the process.
A woman sits at the memorial cemetery in the village of Potocari, near Srebrenica, 11 July 2025 © PHOTO ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP
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