Alliance Councillor David Armitage has called on Belfast City Council to recognise all the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, adding it gave the Council another opportunity to stand up against hate.
The massacre in July 1995 saw more than 8,000 Muslim men killed and 20,000 Muslim women raped in the Bosnian town by the Serbian army and its allies. Councillor Armitage said it was important to stand together with all those who were affected by this horrendous act.
“This is a chance to show courage – to remember the genocide as Serbs attempt to whitewash it from history, to remember the victims and tell their story, so violence will not happen again and the guilty can be brought to justice, and show our support for healing and reconciliation.
“The stories of suffering are many. Fathers, brothers and sons all murdered. This cannot be allowed to happen again.
“But this isn’t just about what happened all those years ago, but about standing with all people who are being shoved to the margins, being dehumanised just because they are seen to be different and combating hate crime in our own community.”