Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Patricia Logue, will light Council offices in Strand Road and the Alley Theatre in Strabane green today, Thursday, July 6, to commemorate all those who were killed in the 1995 genocide at Srebrenica.
The gesture is part of a day of events that includes a tree planting at 4pm at St Columb’s Park and the screening of a short film relating to the genocide in the Guildhall at 4.30pm.
Green and white are the colours of the Srebrenica Flower, the symbol of the Mothers of Srebrenica who have fought tirelessly for truth and justice since the massacre.
“I am pleased that we are able to show solidarity with all those who suffered during the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Mayor Logue.
“The memory of what was inflicted on the Bosnian community should be kept alive so that such an event never ever happens again.”
The events also aim to highlight the work of the Mothers of Srebrenica in the years since, advocating justice, acknowledgement and reconciliation.
A group of Derry and Strabane community leaders and councillors were hosted in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Remembering Srebernica in March of this year to learn about the genocide.
They visited Sarajevo and Srebrenica and heard first-hand harrowing accounts of the genocide of over 8,000 Bosnian boys and men that took place during a three day period.
The commemoration has been organised as a follow-up to the visit to show solidarity with the Mothers of Srebrenica.
