August 7, 2009, Washington, DC: Staff and interns of The Advocacy Project (AP) met with Ambassador Damir Džanko, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Embassy, on Friday to thank him for his attendance at the Srebrenica commemoration event and discuss ways to work together in the future.

AP presented Mr Dzanko with a souvenir carpet made by the weavers of Bosnian Family (BOSFAM), an AP partner in Tuzla.

Elmina Kulasic, Executive Director of the Bosniak-American Advisory Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BAACBH) was also present at the meeting. BAACBH is a strategic partner of AP.

AP staff members discussed numerous projects with the ambassador, including how to promote the work of BOSFAM, and ways of supporting Bosnia’s multicultural legacy and continued peace. AP looks forward to a lasting partnership of cooperation and support with the Bosnian-American community.

AP interns Ines Smajic and Tim Hayes (left) present a souvenir carpet to Amb. Damir Dzanko, DCM. Also pictured is BAACBH Executive Director Elmina Kulasic (right).

AP staff members and interns meet with the ambassador.

July 6, 2009, Washington, DC:  The Advocacy Project (AP) will host an event commemorating the 1995 Srebrenica massacre on Tuesday, July 14.

The event will feature a memorial quilt made by the women of Bosnian Family (BOSFAM), an AP partner based in Tuzla, Bosnia. Many of BOSFAM’s weavers lost relatives in the massacre, and each of the quilt’s panels honors an individual victim.

There will also be a multimedia presentation that includes video and photos from 2009 Peace Fellows who attended the July 11 burial ceremony for recently-identified victims in Potocari, Bosnia.

Srebrenica, a Muslim enclave, was designated a UN safe haven during the war in the Balkans. But on July 11, 1995, a lightly-armed Dutch peacekeeping force capitulated to the Bosnian Serbs, who seized the town and murdered over 8,000 men and boys over the age of 15. The women and children were bused out of Srebrenica to Muslim-controlled territory.

To date, about 2,900 massacre victims have been re-buried, and hundreds more will be added to the total during this year’s ceremony.

The Washington event will be held  from 5:30 to 8 p.m. July 14 at AP’s offices, located at 1326 14th St. NW.

BOSFAM souvenir carpets and refreshments will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the event will benefit BOSFAM and AP’s fellowship program.

May 27, 2009, Mrsici, Bosnia: A new mass grave containing dozens of victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre has been discovered in eastern Bosnia, bringing a fresh reminder as advocates prepare to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the massacre this summer.

The grave was discovered in Mrsici village, 60 kilometers northeast of Sarajevo, according to Bosnia’s Missing Persons Commission. Exhumation was expected to continue for several days.

Srebrenica, a Muslim enclave, was designated a UN safe haven during the Balkan conflict in the 1990s. But a lightly-armed Dutch peacekeeping force capitulated to the Bosnian Serbs, who seized the town and murdered over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys over the age of 15. The women and children were bused out of Srebrenica to Muslim-controlled territory.

To date, the remains of more than 6,000 of the genocide victims have been exhumed from about 70 mass graves around Srebrenica, with more than 5,600 people identified by DNA analysis. About 2,900 massacre victims have been re-buried. Thousands of bodies and body parts have been exhumed from mass graves but not yet identified.

Each summer, thousands flock to Potocari, the scene of the 1995 massacre, to bury the remains of newly-identified victims. Two Advocacy Project partners in the Balkans, Bosnian Family (BOSFAM) and Women in Black-Serbia, participate in the commemoration each year.

BOSFAM has also produced a memorial quilt honoring victims of the Srebrenica massacre. The quilt was launched in 2007 and now comprises 85 total panels, each dedicated to an individual victim.