RIYADH, 11 July 2005 — A six-member delegation, led by Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Propagation and Guidance Saleh Al-Asheikh, will represent the Kingdom at the 10th anniversary of the massacre of over 10,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, today.
Bosnia’s Charge d’ Affaires Ali Moumnovic told Arab News the Saudi team would be among 50 international delegations invited from all over the world to take part in the ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Muslims’ genocide by Serb forces.
Srebrenica, a small mining town in eastern Bosnia, had been declared a safe haven for 40,000 Bosnian Muslims by the UN. However, Serbian soldiers overran 370 poorly-armed Dutch peacekeepers defending Srebrenica, and massacred the refugees who had sought shelter in the enclave.
The gruesome crime took place despite the UN Security Council Resolution 819 (1993) calling on the UN secretary-general to monitor the situation in the safe haven and take immediate steps to increase the presence of UN protection force in Srebrenica and its surroundings.
The genocide has been described as one of the major setbacks for the UN in protecting the Muslims there.
Ali said more than 10,000 Muslims lost their lives in the genocide, of whom only 610 victims have been identified. They will be given a mass burial today.
The charge d' affaires paid tributes to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah and Riyadh Governor Prince Salman for their special concern for his people.
Bosnian Muslims have received at least $120 million in official Saudi aid plus another $235 million in private donations from affluent Saudis.
A Saudi official publication in September 1996 stated that Saudi citizens had contributed $200 million and 150,000 tons of relief supplies to Bosnia. This was in addition to thousands of Bosnians who performed Haj as guests of King Fahd.
He said the Bosnian government had set up a committee to trace the perpetrators of the crime against humanity. "It has drawn up a list of 900 Serbs who are suspected of involvement in the heinous crime. Our work will not stop until they have been brought to justice."
Asked about the UN report that there was no evidence of former Yugoslav President Slobodon Milosevic’s involvement in the Srebrenica massacre, Ali said: "We have strong evidence of Milosevic's direct involvement in the crime."
He hoped that Milosevic would be brought to justice by the special tribunal set up to try him on charges of crime against humanity.
