City of Grand Rapids, Michigan Proclaims Srebrenica Remembrance Day

City of Kentwood, Michigan, Proclaims Srebrenica Remembrance Day
A resolution proclaiming July 11, 2009, as Srebrenica Remembrance Day and the week of July 11, 2009, as Bosnia and Herzegovina Tribute Week in the state of Michigan.

Whereas, The United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives passed resolutions in 2005 acknowledging the genocide that the Serbian forces perpetrated in Srebrenica, and all of Bosnia from 1992 to 1995; and

Whereas, July 11, 2009 will commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre in which at least 8,372 innocent Bosniak civilians were executed and 30,000 were expelled from their homes in the worst atrocity in Europe since the Holocaust; and

Whereas, This anniversary raises awareness of the tragic suffering of the Bosnian people and honors and remembers those who died as a result of the policies of ethnic cleansing and aggression; and

Whereas, The Congress of North American Bosniaks (CNAB) is the umbrella organization representing Bosniaks in the United States and Canada; and

Whereas, The state of Michigan recognizes the importance of this event to bring closure for the Bosnian people through justice and truth; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body proclaim July 11, 2009, as Srebrenica Remembrance Day and the week of July 11, 2009, as Bosnia and Herzegovina Tribute Week in the state of Michigan; and be it further

Resolved, That we call upon all citizens to work toward ending the cycle of violence and promoting peaceful coexistence among all.