May 22, 2014.

PRESS OF THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH OF GENOCIDE, CANADA

Canadian government supports the "International Day of White Armbands”

In a letter of the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada {IGC} sent to the Government of Canada, among others, says:

In the name of Canadian Bosniaks the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada { IGC } seeks your support for the “Day of White Armbands in Canada”. The campaign "Day of White Armbands", whose aim is to fight for the rights and remembrance of Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats from Prijedor, occurs worldwide on May 31st each year. This campaign symbolizes the beginning of genocide perpetrated by the Bosnian Serbs and their supporters against Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats in Prijedor. IGC invites you to stand in solidarity with the victims of Prijedor through a public statement. We hope you can join us in commemorating “White Armband day” this May 31st. Let us stand up for justice together and remind the world that good will overcome evil and innocent victims will never be forgotten”.

In a response of the Canadian Foreign Minister Hon. John Baird to IGC, among others, says:

“Thank you for your email regarding the Day of White Armbands to commemorate the anniversary of the beginning of the Prijedor massacre. I regret the delay in replying to you. Horrible atrocities were committed during the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Canada strongly condemns all forms of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, regardless of the origins of the perpetrators or victims. As such, I commend your efforts to raise awareness about the acts committed in Prijedor, in the hope that perpetrators are brought to justice and that the reconciliation process can begin for all those affected by these terrible events. As a member of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council and a strong supporter of the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina and all the Western Balkan countries, Canada also takes a keen interest in seeing the development of Bosnia and Herzegovina into a stable, secure, multi-ethnic democracy, fully integrated into Euro-Atlantic structures. Canada sincerely hopes that all the countries that were devastated by these atrocities will continue their efforts to bring reconciliation, unity and progress to the Balkans”.

Hon. Brian Masse, Member of the Canadian Parliament: “I am proud to support Worldwide White Armband Day—part of a global campaign to stop genocide denial”

In a statement Hon. Brian Masse member of the Canadian Parliament, sponsor resolution about the genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was adopted in the Canadian Parliament and a member of the Club of Friends of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Canadian Parliament says:

“I am proud to support Worldwide White Armband Day—part of a global campaign to stop genocide denial. On May 31st 1992, the authorities in Prijedor, a town in north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina, ordered all non-Serbs to mark their houses with white flags or sheets and to wear a white armband if they left their houses. Today we are reminded of the brutality of hatred and the human capacity for unspeakable cruelty. We are all tasked with a duty to ensure that the crimes of genocide and torture are permanently eradicated, that the victims of such crimes are remembered, and that perpetrators are exposed and brought to justice. Today is a day to remember and support the victims of atrocities, along with the entire global community committed to truth, justice and respect for victims and their families”.

On behalf of the surviving victims and witnesses of genocide in Prijedor who are currently living in North America and on behalf of many Americans and Canadians and their organizations for the protection of human rights and freedoms IGC supports the request of the President of the Association of Detainees "Prijedor92" Duratović Mirsad sent to mayor of Prijedor Marko Pavic in which seeks declaration of 20 July 2014 as "Day of Mourning" in the Prijedor. That day will be held funeral about 300 identified victims of Prijedor genocide. The largest number of identified bodies exhumed from mass graves Tomašica, largest in European since the Second World War. These are the innocent victims killed in the period between 20 and 23 July in 1992. in Bišćani, Rizvanovići, Rakovcani, Hambarine, Carakovo and Zecovi.

IGC supports the initiative to build a memorial with the names of 102 child who were killed in the genocide in Prijedor. IGC invites all friends of truth and justice to support this initiative and sign the petition.

IGC thanks the Congress of North American Bosniaks to continued support in the fight for the truth about crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and justice for the victims of these crimes.

Professor Emir Ramic

Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada