April 6, 2009, Washington, DC: The Bosniak-American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BAACBH) is marking the anniversary of the start of the Siege of Sarajevo today by remembering the victims and urging governments of the world to take a stand against genocide.

BAACBH, a strategic partner of The Advocacy Project, issued this statement:

“The residents of the capital city of Sarajevo have historically lived in tolerance and diversity; in a city where Christianity, Islam and Judaism flourished side by side for centuries. Unfortunately, Sarajevo was the object of aggressor’s siege whose goal was to destroy its multiethnic fabric and eliminate any semblance of religious and cultural cohabitation. Today, we remember the heroic perseverance that Sarajevo endured in its fight to maintain the spirit of peace and coexistance during the four years of its siege.

In order to prevent genocide in the future and in solidarity with the Genocide Prevention Month in April, BAACBH is remembering victims of Sarajevo and honoring the survivors. In paying tribute to this day, BAACBH pledges to advocate for justice, peace, and democracy because it believes that to rebuild the bonds of humanity, it is imperative that those responsible for genocide and ethnic cleansing be brought to justice. The struggle to seek justice for the victims of genocide must continue.

BAACBH strongly encourages the United States and the international community to recommit its efforts in the campaign against genocide and to bring to justice indicted war criminals, especially the fugitive Ratko Mladic. It is essential that justice prevail, because only justice can help bring some closure to victims’ families and the survivors.”

The Siege of Sarajevo (April 6, 1992 to February 29, 1996) was the longest siege in the history of modern warfare. It is estimated that during the siege, 85 percent of the 12,000 people killed and 50,000 wounded were civilians. The Siege of Sarajevo not only marked the start of the war of aggression in the Balkans, but also the beginning of genocide and ethnic cleansing throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2003, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted the first commander of the Republika Srpska paramilitary force, Stanislav Galic, for crimes against humanity committed during the Siege of Sarajevo. In 2007, Dragomir Milosevic, the Serb general who replaced Galic as commander, was found guilty by ICTY as well.