PodcastUse of words against Islam in a free manner is a source of concern, says Erdoğan
President Erdoğan has said that it is a "great concern" for words that fuel animosity towards Islam "to be used freely." Erdoğan made the comments on July 11 while marking the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.
Duvar English
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that the use of words against Islam “in a free" manner is a source of “great concern.”
Erdoğan made the comments on July 11 while marking the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Despite all the drama, massacre and tears, European politicians have not received any lesson from the Srebrenica genocide. It is a great concern for our future for words that fuel animosity towards Islam and support xenophobia to be used freely,” Erdoğan said in a video message.
The Srebrenica genocide was the worst atrocity crime on European soil since the Second World War.
Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladic attacked the eastern enclave of Srebrenica where about 40,000 Bosnian Muslims had found shelter under United Nations protection.
After Srebrenica fell into Serb hands on July 11, 1995, the women and children were separated from men and bussed to territory controlled by the Bosnian army.
Some 8,000 men and boys were then executed by Bosnian Serb forces, about 6,000 of them as they tried to escape through the woods and buried in mass graves.