The remains of 30 newly identified victims of the Srebrenica genocide were buried on July 11 as Bosnia-Herzegovina marked the 28th anniversary of the killings.
The victims' remains were laid to rest at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center in Potocari, where more than 6,700 of the estimated 8,000 victims have been buried.
The remains of the 30 Bosniak Muslims were brought back from mass graves found in eastern Bosnia, where they had been relocated by Bosnian Serb forces trying to cover up the crime in the closing months of Bosnia's 1992-95 civil war.
The youngest victim buried on July 11 was Elvir Salcinovic, who was 15 years old when he was killed.
The burials took place during the 28th anniversary ceremony, which was attended by several thousand state officials, foreign dignitaries, and Bosnians. The event was preceded by a 110-kilometer peace march, a three-day hike with 6,000 participants.
The Pain Never Ends: Commemorating The Srebrenica Genocide As New Victims Are Buried
The Srebrenica killings were the only episode of the conflict -- in which some 100,000 people died -- to be legally defined as genocide, including by two UN courts. However, Serbian and Bosnian Serb officials -- including current Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik -- refuse to accept that wording.
The continued denial of the genocide was a major subject at the anniversary ceremony. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) of Bosnia-Herzegovina called on officials to continue pursuing the prosecution of those responsible for the denial of genocide and the glorification of war crimes.
In a thinly veiled message to politicians in Republika Srpska, the country's Serb-majority entity, High Representative Christian Schmidt said that his office was ready to use all of its means to help Bosnia bring indictments against genocide deniers.
"It is clear that we must have decisive moves by the Prosecutor's office," Schmidt said at the commemoration.
"Those who deny the genocide, wherever they live and stay, are committing a criminal offense because the changes to the law that my predecessor, Valentin Inzko, brought two years ago are rigid and clearly state that denying the genocide is a criminal offense. Don't forget that this is a law that applies to the whole of Bosnia-Herzegovina," he said.
Denis Becirovic, the Bosnian Muslim member of the Bosnian tripartite presidency, warned that "the danger of genocide over Bosniaks being repeated hasn't been removed yet," adding that certain politicians in Bosnia want to destroy the country's constitutional order, insult the victims, and glorify war criminals.
"Today, not only Bosnia-Herzegovina but also the entire civilized part of the world offer deep condolences to the victims of the only genocide committed in Europe after World War II," he said. "All those who offer Bosnia-Herzegovina a strategy of forgetting don't have good intentions with our country."
WATCH: Every year, Suljo Cakanovic takes part in the Peace March, a three-day hike across Bosnia-Herzegovina to the Potocari cemetery for the July 11 memorial to victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.
Years of ethnic tensions between the Serbs of Republika Srpska and Bosnia's central authorities escalated in the months leading up to the anniversary, culminating in Republika Srpska's parliament voting on June 27 to suspend recognition of any decisions by Bosnia's multiethnic Constitutional Court.
Dodik on July 8 challenged the OHR's authority by filing a "criminal complaint" against Schmidt "because he has been dealing with the affairs of the high representative without authorization for a long time, for which there is no UN Security Council decision."
Dodik claimed that "with the intention of causing damage to Republika Srpska, Schmidt falsely presents himself as an official knowing that he was not appointed in accordance with Annex 10 of the Dayton peace accords," which give Schmidt the power to impose laws as the final interpreter of the state constitution, though his decisions can be reviewed and questioned by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia, if the OHR approves.
A day before filing the complaint, Dodik signed into law controversial changes approved by the National Assembly of Republika Srpska that effectively allow it to disregard decisions made by Schmidt as the international envoy.
Schmidt has joined Washington and European Union officials in accusing Dodik of violating Bosnia's constitution and undermining the Dayton accords with this recent action.
Johann Sattler, chief of the EU delegation to Bosnia, said in Srebrenica that reconciliation is key, but that its basis is having the perpetrators face the justice.
