HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 27

BY  ANDERSON, DRAKE, ARNOLD, BERRY, MASCHER, S. OLSON, and PETERSEN

A Resolution to acknowledge the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

   WHEREAS, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives passed resolutions in 2005 acknowledging the genocide that Serbian forces perpetrated in all of Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and in Srebrenica; and
   WHEREAS, July 11, 2011, is commemorated as the anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, in which at least 8,372 innocent Bosniak civilians were summarily 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 and Herzegovinian people and honors and remembers those who died as a result of the policies of ethnic cleansing and aggression; and
   WHEREAS, Iowans recognize the importance of this event, which seeks to bring closure for the Bosnian and Herzegovinian people through justice and truth; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the House of Representatives recognizes July 11, 2011, as Srebrenica Remembrance Day in the State of Iowa; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designates the week of July 11, 2011, as Bosnia and Herzegovina Tribute Week in the State of Iowa; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives calls upon all Iowans to work toward ending the cycle of violence and to promote peaceful coexistence among all people on Earth.