Flags set to be lowered to mark 25th anniversary of genocide in Bosnia
Test Valley Borough Council is set to lower its flags across the borough from 5 to 12 July in honour of Srebrenica Memorial Week.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia, which saw more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys murdered, simply because of their faith.
Remembering Srebrenica, a charitable organisation funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, has contacted authorities across the country to ask them to pledge their support for their campaign. Backed by the Foreign Office, their aim is to raise awareness of the genocide in Bosnia and bring people together to tackle hatred and help build safer, stronger communities in the UK.
Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, councillor Phil North, said: “It’s hard to believe that these horrific events took place just 25 years ago. The stories of the families torn apart are utterly tragic and it is our duty to ensure that they are never forgotten. I’m grateful to Remembering Srebrenica for reaching out to us and we hope that lowering our flags across the borough will help to raise awareness of their campaign and the tragedy behind it. Their mission to bring people together really strikes a chord given all that has happened in recent weeks and the importance of us each showing care, respect and tolerance towards one another.”
Since its creation in 2013, Remembering Srebrenica has educated 100,000 young people on the lessons from Srebrenica, organised close to 7,500 memorial events and activities across the country and created 1,450 community champions who pledge to stand up to hatred and intolerance in their communities.
This year’s UK National Srebrenica Memorial Day commemoration was due to take place at St Paul’s Cathedral but this will now be postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.