CHP Proposes Bill to Designate July 11 as "Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance and Commemoration Day"

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has submitted a bill to officially recognize the massacre committed by Serbs in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on July 11, 1995, as "genocide" and to designate July 11 as "Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance and Commemoration Day."

CHP Deputy Group Chairpersons Gökhan Günaydın, Murat Emir, and Ali Mahir Başarır submitted the bill to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) today. The joint proposal includes the following key points:

"Survivors and families of the victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina have long strived to ensure that the massacre is not forgotten. They demand that Serbian leaders who deny the genocide confront this historical truth. Recently, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly recognized July 11, when more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were massacred in Srebrenica in 1995, as 'Genocide Remembrance and Commemoration Day.' Despite strong opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Serbia, the resolution was passed with the support of 84 countries out of the 193-member General Assembly, following Germany’s initiative. The adopted resolution calls for the condemnation of those who deny the genocide, denounces actions glorifying individuals accused by international courts of crimes such as war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, and recommends incorporating the education of these topics into curricula to prevent similar atrocities in the future. Through our proposed bill, we aim for the Turkish Grand National Assembly to officially recognize the massacre of over 8,000 individuals on July 11, 1995, by Serbs as 'genocide,' and to commemorate the Muslim victims annually on July 11 as 'Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance and Commemoration Day.'"

The bill submitted to the TBMM proposes the following:

Article 1:

The massacre committed by Serbs in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on July 11, 1995, is officially recognized as "genocide."

In memory of the Bosnian Muslims massacred by Serbs in Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, July 11 is designated as "Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance and Commemoration Day."

Article 2: This law shall come into effect on the date of its publication.

Article 3: The implementation of this law shall be carried out by the President.