The UB pays tribute to Srebrenica victims on the 20th anniversary of the genocide
On 11 July 1995, more than 8,000 people, mostly children and men, were killed by General Ratko Mladicinʼs troops in the region of Srebrenica, todayʼs Bosnia and Herzegovina. The official list of disappeared people includes 8,373 names. These events are the first genocide that took place in the European continent and the most massive murder that has taken place in Europe since the Second World War. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of this brutal killing, the University of Barcelona (UB), by means of the European Observatory on Memories of the UB Solidarity Foundation, sets up a series of activities in Barcelona and Sarajevo in order to analyse in deep the causes and consequences of the Srebrenica genocide.
On 11 July 1995, more than 8,000 people, mostly children and men, were killed by General Ratko Mladicinʼs troops in the region of Srebrenica, todayʼs Bosnia and Herzegovina. The official list of disappeared people includes 8,373 names. These events are the first genocide that took place in the European continent and the most massive murder that has taken place in Europe since the Second World War. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of this brutal killing, the University of Barcelona (UB), by means of the European Observatory on Memories of the UB Solidarity Foundation, sets up a series of activities in Barcelona and Sarajevo in order to analyse in deep the causes and consequences of the Srebrenica genocide.
The series of activities begins with a round-table talk that analyses the role played by the international community in the Balkan Conflict and regionʼs present situation. Discussion will be focused on burning questions like Kosovo ethnic quarrels. Participating speakers are: Manel Vila, expert on international cooperation and promoter of Foundation District 11 who has been honoured for his close collaboration with the city of Sarajevo during the Bosnian war; David Bondia, director of the Catalan Institute of Human Rights and professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the UB; Nicolás Valle, journalist specialized in International affairs at the channel TV3; Dijana Delic, citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who experienced the war first-hand and is now living in Catalonia, and Eulàlia Pascual, member of the Board of Governors of the International Catalan Institute for Peace and lawyer at the International Criminal Justice Committee of the Barcelona Bar Association. Carme Panchón, vice-rector for Administration and Organization of the UB, moderates the round-table talk, which takes place on 9 July at 6.30 p.m. in the Aula Capella of the Historic Building (585, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes).
On Saturday 11 July, from 10.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m., it takes place a collective reading of the names of 8,373 murdered people who have been identified. This event, entitled Les veus de Srebrenica, has been organized together with the Foundation District 11 and takes place in front of the Born Cultural Centre.
Parallel exhibition
On 14 July, the exhibition “Srebrenica, memòria dʼun genocidi” (Srebrenica: memories of a genocide) is inaugurated at the Born Cultural Centre. It shows a collection of photographs collected by the photojournalist Alfons Rodríguez, who participated in an international march in 2010. Fifteen years after the massive killing, when the trip was coming to an end, Rodríguez attended the collective burial of 774 identified bodies. The exhibition is simultaneously hosted by the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo.
In order to organize this activity, the European Observatory on Memories, a network promoted by the European Commission, has been supported by the Barcelona City Council, the Foundation District 11, IGMAN Acció Solidària, the International Catalan Institute for Peace, the Foundation for Peace and Solidarity, the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Local Democracy Foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.