The Bosniak American Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BAACBH) would like to commemorate the Siege of Sarajevo which lasted from April 5, 1992 to February 29, 1996. The siege occurred during the war of aggression on the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and it was the longest siege in the history of modern warfare. It is estimated that more than 12,000 people were killed and 50,000 were wounded of which 85 percent were civilians. The Siege of Sarajevo not only marked the start of the war of aggression, but also the beginning of genocide and ethnic cleansing throughout BiH.

Sarajevo is a city where Christianity, Islam and Judaism flourished side by side for centuries, and its residents have historically lived side by side in unity. Sarajevo came under siege by the Serb forces of Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army whose goal was to destroy its multiethnic fabric and eliminate any resemblance of religious and cultural cohabitation. Today, we remember the heroic perseverance that Sarajevo and its citizens endured; and in order to prevent genocide in the future and in solidarity with April Genocide Prevention Month, BAACBH is remembering victims of genocide and honoring the survivors.

BAACBH strongly encourages the United States and the international community to re-commit its efforts in the campaign against genocide and to bring indicted war criminals to justice, especially the fugitive wartime General Ratko Mladic, who is responsible for the Srebrenica genocide where over eight thousand men and boys were slaughtered. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" therefore it is essential that justice prevail for the sake of all, and the struggle to seek justice for the victims of genocide must continue.