Human Rights Action (HRA) strongly condemns the attack on activists of organization Women in Black in Valjevo and urges the government of Serbia to grant all citizens freedom of speech and assembly.
It is particularly worrying that the attack on members of Women in Black organization and cyclists who travelled from Belgrade to Srebrenica to pay homage to the victims of Srebrenica genocide took place on the main town square and at the pre-announced gathering, in the presence of the police.
Authorities of Serbia, as well as of other countries, are obliged to guarantee freedom of speech and assembly to all their citizens, while international standards oblige them to pay special attention to the protection of human rights activists. Women in Black reminded the public about the most massive crime committed in European soil since World War II, when members of the army of Bosnian Serbs from systematically killed at least 7,800 unarmed Bosniaks aged 14-70 years from 11 to 19 July 1995. It is unfortunate that there are people unable to pay respect to these indisputable victims and immense suffering inflicted on their families.
HRA reminds that the European Parliament adopted a resolution declaring 11 July as the official day of remembrance of the Srebrenica genocide, and that the Parliament of Montenegro adopted this decision in a special Declaration in 2009.
Once again, HRA calls the Government of Montenegro to organize the marking of Srebrenica Remembrance Day. This call was submitted jointly by Anima, Centre for Civic Education and HRA back in 2009.
Even then, we have invited the public prosecutor to investigate, in cooperation with the prosecutor’s office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, possible criminal responsibility of Montenegrin citizens for the crime in Srebrenica. We hope that the Protocol on Cooperation in Prosecution of Perpetrators of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide, signed this year by Bosnia and Herzegovina State Prosecutor’s Office and the Supreme State Prosecutor of Montenegro, will help punish all responsible for committing these crimes.
