SUFFERING OF SERBS IN PODRINJE - CORNERSTONE OF SERB PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE

BRATUNAC, JULY 4 /SRNA/ – The truth about the suffering of Serbs in the Podrinje region is the cornerstone of the Serb people's struggle for justice, the Association of Refugees, Endangered and Displaced Persons of Serbia said in a statement.

"As long as the voices of those who suffered continue to be heard, there is hope that the evil that befell us will be recognized and condemned, and that our right to dignity will be respected," the statement said. The association recalled that behind the figure of 3,267 Serbs killed in the Central Podrinje and Birač region lie not merely statistics, but thousands of interrupted dreams, destroyed families and extinguished homes. "Bratunac is not merely a place on the map - it is the place where our grief meets our history," announced the association. The association stressed that the victims must never be allowed to fall into oblivion. "We do not seek revenge; we seek justice and the right to remembrance. We will not allow silence to cover the truth about the places where our people suffered. It is our duty to pass on to younger generations the pledge to preserve our homeland and the culture of remembrance, because a people who forget their victims forfeit their right to the future," the statement said. The Association of Refugees, Endangered and Displaced Persons of Serbia adds that it remains committed to fostering ties with the Serb people in Republika Srpska. "Together we endured the hardest of times, together we bear the scars, and together we will preserve the truth as the only path to peace and freedom. May eternal peace be granted to all those who laid down their lives for faith and freedom in these lands. As long as we exist, so too will remembrance. There can be no return without truth, nor peace without justice," the association said. Members of the association attended today's commemoration in Bratunac marking more than three decades since the suffering of 3,267 Serbs from the Central Podrinje and Birač region between 1992 and 1995.