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Vandals damage Srebrenica memorial on Graz bridge!
On July 1, 2025, a monument commemorating Srebrenica in Graz was damaged. Protests follow to warn of the genocide.
Vandals damage Srebrenica memorial on Graz bridge!
On Friday, July 1, 2025, a temporary memorial on Graz's main bridge commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre was damaged. The initiative remember had erected this monument to commemorate the more than 8,000 victims of the terrible genocide in the Bosnian War.
Eleven white flowers were placed on the Erzherzog Johann Bridge as a symbol of remembrance. Unfortunately, the largest of these flowers was removed, which was condemned by the initiative. She sees this incident as an attack on coming to terms with the situation, peace work and the protection of human rights. “We demand a complete investigation into this act of vandalism,” said a spokesman for the initiative.
An expression of protest
On Monday evening, eleven people gathered at the bridge to protest with their presence. This was a symbolic sign - 11 stands for July 11th, the international day of remembrance of the Srebrenica massacre. In this context, the initiative invites you remember for the “Graz Peace March” next Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Human Rights Square.
Historical context of the massacre
The Srebrenica massacre is considered the greatest crime against humanity in Europe since the end of the Second World War. On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serb units under the command of Ratko Mladić captured the city of Srebrenica. Over 7,000 Muslim Bosnians, mostly men and boys, lost their lives in the following days. This occurred during a period in which the breakup of Yugoslavia ushered in a bitter period of civil war. Tensions between ethnic groups led to the region of Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming a source of conflict in the early 1990s.
Srebrenica had been declared a UN safe zone, but around 350 UN soldiers were unable to protect civilians. Up to 42,000 people, including 36,000 refugees, were in the city at the time the atrocities began. Women and children were separated from men, who were then murdered en masse. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was established to punish these crimes. To date, 161 people have been charged.
In recent years there has been increased debate about whether the massacre should be classified as genocide. The situation is complicated by political tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where, among others, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić and the political leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik, repeatedly find themselves in the spotlight through statements and actions. On July 11, 2024, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the UN will commemorate the genocide internationally for the first time and have established an international day of remembrance for this day.
The commemorations, which are also held in Srebrenica, commemorate the terrible events and preserve the memory of the victims. Despite decades of investigation, the massacre remains a controversial topic, and for many the search for the truth is far from over. Historian Belma Zulic reports on constant searches for the remains of the murdered.