Ahead of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, the High Representative, Valentin Inzko, visited the Jewish Community Centre in Sarajevo on Friday. In his address, the High Representative emphasized that the rule of law and active civic participation are essential for preventing the horrors of the past from happening again.
“In the middle of the last century, my country was held in thrall by men who confused chauvinism with patriotism and considered the law a tool to be used for political ends. We know the crimes these men committed. The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina today are threatened by some who confuse intolerance with strength and conviction with intelligence.”
The High Representative added that the public discourse today continues to be tainted by damaging assumptions about power, and the perception that the powerful are free to do as they wish. This happened here in the Second World War and during the recent war. But this can and will change when the people decide it must change.
“Our task is to work with those who are building a sovereign and inclusive democracy fully integrated in the European family, so that the good prevails – and I am certain that it will,” concluded the High Representative.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked on January 27th – the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp – to commemorate the millions of people who perished in the Holocaust.
