“Remembering Srebrenica” in the UK is delighted to confirm that HRH The Prince of Wales, Charles Arthur George, will officially visit Srebrenica next month to mark the 25th anniversary of the genocide.
The Prince of Wales will meet with survivors and mothers who lost sons, husbands and other male relatives in the genocide. He will then lay a wreath and pay tribute to the victims at the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Centre, where over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were systematically murdered because of their identity, over a period of just a few days in July 1995, in what was the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War.
The Prince of Wales had the opportunity to meet some of the survivors and mothers still searching for their missing family members in the presence of Dr. Waqar Azmi OBE, founder of the “Remembering Srebrenica” organization, on 10 July 2018 when His Royal Highness hosted a reception for Western Balkan leaders at Clarence House.
The Prince’s visit is planned exactly five years after Princess Anne’s visit to Srebrenica, during which she praised the work and activities of the “Remembering Srebrenica” organization in the United Kingdom.
Since its inception, Remembering Srebrenica has educated 100,000 children in British schools, created 1,350 community champions to confront hatred and intolerance in their communities, and organized 1,100 Srebrenica genocide memorial events and activities annually across cities and towns in the UK to bring communities together, honor the victims, and help build more cohesive communities.
The theme for this year’s commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide is ” Every action matters”. The theme was announced by the Rt. The Hon. Robert Jenrick , Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the government of the Prime Minister of Great Britain Boris Johnson . The aim of the theme is to motivate people to show that their actions, no matter how big or small, can confront hatred, prejudice and genocide denial.
Patron of the charity Remembering Srebrenica in the UK, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, said: “The Prince of Wales’ visit will mark 100 days until Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Week in the UK which will take place from 5 to 12 July and will see hundreds of memorial events and activities taking place across the UK bringing communities together to honour the victims and reject hatred. The UK’s National Srebrenica Day of Remembrance will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on 6 July where around 2,000 guests will attend,” he said.
Dr Waqar Azmi OBE, President of Remembering Srebrenica UK, said: “We welcome the Prince of Wales’ visit to Srebrenica on this momentous anniversary which will send a strong message to the world about the importance of rejecting division and hatred and building cohesive communities.
The Prince of Wales’ visit also sends a strong message to those who deny genocide, glorify the perpetrators and continue to divide, to come together and reject hatred and make reconciliation real for all.”
