Sponsored walk to remember genocide

Jon Macpherson, AccringtonObserver

26 January 2015

A councillor from Great Harwood will take part in a sponsored 63-mile walk for families left devastated by genocide.

Noordad Aziz is putting a team together to walk the route from Tuzla to Srebrenica in Bosnia on the 20th anniversary of the genocide which saw 8,000 people murdered.

Coun Aziz said he was inspired to take part in the annual peace walk through mountain terrain following a visit to the country last year.

He was part of a government-led delegation to Bosnia and visited Srebrenica to raise awareness of the 1995 genocide and to visit the memorial site.

Previous delegations have included senior members of the UK government, including Baroness Warsi and Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Coun Aziz said: “It’s now coming up to the 20th anniversary of the genocide and I wanted to raise funds for the Remembering Srebrenica charity.

“It will benefit all the women who lost sons and husbands and also to create a bit of awareness.

“The route is one that the men who survived the genocide took. They came from Srebrenica to Tuzla and we are doing it in reverse. It’s a genocide that happened in our lifetime, only 20 years ago, and should never be forgotten.”

Coun Aziz said he is hoping to raise around £10,000 from the walk and is now in training for the three-day trek starting on July 7.

Around 2,000 people from across the world are expected to take part in the peace walk in protest over the lack of arrests and prosecutions for those responsible for the Srebrenica genocide and the numerous war crimes committed during the conflict.

At the end of the march, participants will be able to attend a memorial service and join the funeral prayer for the burial of identified victims from mass grave sites.

Featured Image: Noordad Aziz is putting a team together to walk the route from Tuzla to Srebrenica in Bosnia on the 20th anniversary of the genocide which saw 8,000 people murdered. Copyright: AccringtonObserver

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