On the morning of 11 July, the Srebrenica Commemoration organised by the Association KROKODIL, beneath Branko’s Bridge in Belgrade, was cancelled after Vladimir Arsenijević, KROKODIL’s founder and president, was brutally assaulted by a group of 20 to 30 men in black shirts. They had been waiting for him at the site, covering the area with nationalist graffiti, glorifying convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.

KROKODIL had planned to once again mark 11 July under the slogan “People Remember People,” in memory of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide. On that occasion, our project leader, Ger Duijzings, was scheduled to give a speech titled “Speech to the World”. It was part of a series of events across Belgrade and Novi Sad, organised by civil society organizations, foundations, artists, and cultural workers in Serbia.

KROKODIL cancelled the event, stating that under the given circumstances it was unsafe to hold the commemoration but also stressing that this would not stop KROKODIL’s ongoing work. More information on the attack and reactions from the region can be found on the KROKODIL website.

You can read Ger Duijzings’ (unuttered) “Speech to the World” here, in English and Serbian.