by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, April 19,1994:
United Nations, United States and other NATO have again abdicated from their international responsibility in allowing Gorazde, one of the six ‘Unsafe areas’, to be turned into a new ‘hell of genocide’
The United Nations, the United States and other NATO countries have again abdicated from their international responsibilities and commitments in allowing Gorazde, one of the six ‘Unsafe areas’ in Bosnia-Herzegovina, to be turned into a new ‘hell of genocide’.
A UN spokesman, Joe Sills, had admitted yesterday that the Bosnian town of Gorazde had fallen to Serbian troops. He said that the Serbian forces had moved into the town as the defences collapsed and then pulled back slightly and ‘if, at any time, they want to assert their authority over the city, they can do so.’
Since the Serbs launched their assault on Gorazde on March 28, 302 people had died and 1,075 were wounded, and half of those killed were civilians including 105 women and 41 children.
Refugees from outlying area have flooded into the town swelling its population to 65,000.
The United Nations, the United States and the other NATO countries deserved international condemnation for their failure to defend Gorazde to honour their declaration that it is one of the six ‘safe areas’ in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and must bear direct responsibility for the carnage in Gorazde because of their empty promises to Bosnians that they would be safe in Gorazde.