Pastor Mark Burns, spiritual adviser to the President of the United States, said that innocent Serb victims must not be ignored, minimized or forgotten.
Burns, who attended the commemoration in Bratunac yesterday, said he was paying tribute to the memory of 3,267 Serbs from the Middle Podrinje and Birač region killed between 1992 and 1995.
“I believe we must never ignore or justify the mass killings committed against Bosniaks and others during the war. At the same time, we must not ignore, minimize or forget the innocent Serb lives that were also taken,” Burns wrote on X.
He stressed that every innocent life matters, every grieving family deserves to be heard, and every community deserves a chance to heal.
Saying he was sad that he could not be in the United States for the celebration of 250 years of independence, Burns said he had to go where Jesus was calling him and stand with those who have no voice, those who suffer, and those whose suffering must never be forgotten.
“Today I am in Bosnia and Herzegovina, celebrating 250 years of American independence while also honoring the memory of 3,267 Serbs from the Middle Podrinje and Birač region who were killed between 1992 and 1995, including 1,104 children. God’s love covers all people,” Burns wrote.
He added that he was proud to be a citizen of the greatest nation in the world, the United States of America, and that he was there not as a representative of the government, but as a representative of God’s love through Jesus Christ.
Burns said that through interfaith dialogue, togetherness, truth and God’s love, wounds can heal and peace can grow stronger.
“May God bless the United States of America, and may God bring lasting peace, healing and reconciliation to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entire Balkans,” Burns wrote.
Source: RTRS
