Women in Black, Baltimore

Part of an International Network for Peace. Women in Black, Baltimore joins with other women’s organizations worldwide to advocate for peace, justice, and an end to violence worldwide.

We Are Surrounded by Images of War and Violence.
We Present an Image of Peace.

Dear small group,
Hello again. WIB in former yugoslavia have been such a vital part of the
WIB "movement" that I thought you would also want to see how they are
marking the 9th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

On the occasion of the ninth anniversary of the massacre of prisoners of
war and civilians of Bosniak nationality in the area of Srebrenica, who were
executed by the army and paramilitary formations of Republika Srpska and the
regime of Slobodan Miloševiæ, Women in Black, Belgrade will organize a
vigil, standing in black and silence, on Saturday, July 10th from 19:00 to
20:00 on Republic Square in Belgrade. During the vigil, actress Maja Mitiæ
from Dah Theater will perform part of the theater play “Map of Forbidden
Remembrance”.
In addition, activists from various cities in Serbia will join the
commemoration on July 11th in Potoèarima, Srebrenica.
In inviting the citizens of Belgrade to join us in marking one of the most
terrible crimes committed in our name, we would especially like to express
the following:

• Even though the Hague Tribunal validated the decision that this event was
a genocidal crime, in our country there exists a large number of media,
political forces, and public figures who still today try to relativize,
justify, or forget this crime.

• The widespread tolerance of hate speech and war crimes, often supported by
the propaganda of false patriots, false democrats, and some media
manipulators, creates barriers to finally confronting the truth about crimes
committed during the wars of the past decade.

• Too loud are those who, even after the confession of the leadership of
Republika Srpska, are in opposition to The Hague Tribunal and trying to
hinder the arrest of four of Miloševiæ’s generals who have been accused of
war crimes.

Therefore, we demand immediate extradition to The Hague Tribunal of the
aforementioned four generals, as well as all those suspected of war crimes
who are located in the territory of Serbia and Montenegro.

In addition, we consider that the inauguration of Boris Tadiæ to the
position of President of Serbia scheduled for July 11th is an inappropriate
act, which won’t assist in confronting with the past.

In expressing on this occasion our solidarity with the families of the
victims of Srebrenica as well as those victims of all other crimes committed
in our name, we also express our conviction that the civil society and
democratic forces in all the countries of the former Yugoslavia which
participated in the wars during the 1990s will find strength to, more
visibly than up to now, give their participation in the process of dividing
the collective from the individual guilt, which is a necessity for creating
the conditions for lasting and stable peace in this part of Europe.
July 9th, 2004

Women in Black, Belgrade

 

For more information email mailto:wibbaltimore@hotmail.com