We, the undersigned, would like to show our support for senator Maralyn Chase's proposed resolution declaring July 11, 2011 as Bosnian Genocide Remembrance Day in Washington State. We would like this to be a day on which the victims of the 1992-1995 Bosnian Genocide would be remembered and honored by the people of Washington State.

RESOLUTION DESIGNATING JULY 11, 2011 AS BOSNIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY IN WASHINGTON STATE

WHEREAS, The United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives passed resolutions in 2005 acknowledging the genocide that Serb forces perpetrated in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992-1995; and
WHEREAS, July 11, 2011 is commemorated as the 16th anniversary or the Srebrenica Genocide in which at least 8,372 innocent and defenseless Bosnian civilians, including children, were summarily executed, hundreds of women and girls were systematically raped and sexually molested, and at least 30,000 inhabitants were forcefully expelled from their ancestral homes in the worst atrocity in Europe since the Holocaust; and
WHEREAS, Similar brutal campaigns of mass murder, detention and torture of civilians in concentration and rape camps, large-scale forced expulsions of inhabitants from their ancestral homes, and mass destruction of religiously and culturally significant structures and objects were organized and committed against Bosnian civilians in cities, towns, and villages across Bosnia and Herzegovina most notably in Sarajevo, Prijedor, Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Zvornik, Rogatica, Vlasenica, Bratunac, Foca, and Visegrad during the 1992-1995 aggression on the newly-formed democratic state with the intent of extirpating the native population that identified itself as Bosnian, Bosnian Muslim, or Bosniak; and
WHEREAS, This anniversary presents an opportunity to raise awareness of the genocide committed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and to remember and honor the victims who lost their lives as a result of the premeditated policies of aggression, extirpation, and carving out ethnically pure territorial areas by the use of terror, force, and ethnic cleansing; and
WHEREAS, The State of Washington recognizes the importance of the aforementioned events to the Bosnian-American community residing in Washington State as well as to all Washingtonians and would like to see closure for the Bosnian-Herzegovinian people through truth, justice, and reconciliation; and
WHEREAS, The citizens of Washington State are united in their condemnation of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity and seek that those responsible for the aforementioned crimes be brought to justice; and
WHEREAS, The State of Washington places great importance on educating future generations about the horrors of the Holocaust and other genocides with the hope that former experiences and the lessons learned from past failures to preclude and stop genocide will be helpful in preventing future genocides from being perpetrated;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate designates July 11, 2011 as Bosnian Genocide Remembrance Day in Washington State; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we designate the week of July 11, 2011 as Bosnia and Herzegovina tribute week in Washington State; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we call upon all citizens to work towards ending the cycle of violence and promoting peaceful coexistence among all people in Washington State and around the world.