Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Srebrenica, Bosnia was the world's first United Nations safe area and was also the site of the worst case of genocide in Europe since World War II. While a Dutch peacekeeping battalion of United Nations forces helplessly looked on, the Bosnian Serb army's brutal takeover in 1995 saw Muslim families separated and over 7,000 Srebrenican citizens were systematically murdered. These killings were not committed in battle. They were committed against people who were unarmed and helpless and who had been repeatedly assured that they would not be harmed if they surrendered. The evidence is overwhelming that the executions were committed with the specific intention of destroying the Bosnian Muslim population of the area.

UN peacekeeping forces in Srebrenica were charged with enforcing Security Council Resolution 836, which had pledged to defend areas it declared as safe with 'all necessary means, including the use of force.' But, when it came to enforcing its own resolution, the UN forces offered limited resistance to an overwhelming Serb offensive. UN military and political commanders quickly redefined their primary mission, not as protection forces for the people of Srebrenica, but to ensure the safety of UN forces themselves. Tragically for the citizens of Srebrenica, who took the United Nations at its word for their safely and security, the pledges were never backed up with military resources to ensure that aggression against Srebrenica could be met and defeated. The peacekeepers became observers to genocide rather than protectors of life.

After World War II and the experience of the Holocaust the Allies said, 'Never again.' How short are our memories. President Clinton has acknowledged that the West ignored the signs of the 1994 Rwanda genocide until it was too late. In 1996 and 1997 we failed to act on credible reports that the Rwandan Patriotic Army was engaging in mass slaughter of Hutu refugees.

A change came in 1999 as the Serbs threatened to do in Kosovo what they had done in Srebrenica. Tony Blair vowed that this time the West would not stand by, citing the Srebrenica experience to illustrate the consequences of Western inaction. NATO's involvement in the successful military action in Kosovo marked a turning point. The following year British troops intervened, again successfully, in Sierra Leone. In March this year another British Prime Minister, David Cameron, successfully rallied wavering US and European armies with a passionate plea, as Colonel Gaddafi massacred civilians in Libya, that: 'Words are not enough and what we will be judged on is our actions.'

The time is long past for Australia to officially declare 11 July as Srebrenica Remembrance Day. With recognition of this day, Australia acknowledges the importance of this event in helping to bring closure for the Bosnian people. Srebrenica Remembrance Day every 11 July will help to inform future generations and guide all Australians to advocate only peaceful foreign relations. At a minimum, the lesson of Srebrenica requires that, when we are put on notice about the possibility of impending violence or massacre, we must not wait for proof beyond a reasonable doubt before acting to prevent it. Such proof, as history shows us, always comes far too late.

Recognising the devastating effects of the July 1995 Srebrenica genocide, this motion allows the opportunity for all Australians to stand with the Bosnian Australian community to honour the memory of those massacred. May the memory of those lost never be forgotten and may we never let events of this significance happen again. Let us ensure that this time we really mean 'never again'.

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