NICOLA Sturgeon will today keep her promise to families of the victims of Europe’s worst massacre since World World Two by visiting the site of the Srebrenica genocide.
The First Minister will join the Very Rev Dr Lorna Hood, the former moderator of the Church of Scotland, and pay tribute to the 8400 men and boys killed in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995.
The slaughter, carried out by Serbian paramilitary units in what was supposed to be a UN Safe Area, was the worst atrocity during a Balkans War that claimed over 100,000 lives.
The First Minister’s visit follows a commitment she made to representatives of the Mothers of Srebrenica group in Edinburgh last year at a 20th anniversary memorial service.
It will include a wreath-laying ceremony at Potocari, where the massacre began.
She said: “It will be a privilege to learn first-hand how survivors and bereaved family members have fought to preserve the memory of their loved ones.
“In a world where conflict is sadly still very much a reality, we must never forget the lessons of the past as we try to build a more peaceful, tolerant future.”
Dr Hood, chair of the Scottish board of Remembering Srebrenica, added: "Recent terrorist events around the world should make us even more aware that hatred and discrimination, if left unchallenged and unchecked, can lead to terrible evil, even amongst those who had been neighbours and friends."
Last year the Scottish Government launched an education pack - developed by Remembering Srebrenica – for use in secondary schools.
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