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Serbia apologizes for Srebrenica massacre
Published: 31 March, 2010, 15:14
Edited: 24 August, 2010, 22:37
TAGS: Conflict, Military, Politics, Europe, History
Serbia’s parliament has passed a crucial resolution condemning the 1995 Srebrenica mass murder of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The move is likely to bring Belgrade one step closer to joining the European Union and let the Balkan state finally move on from its past clouded by bloody civil wars in the nineties.
Following hours of bitter debates at the Serbian parliament, the declaration was passed by the majority of MPs. The move has put an end to years of denial by the authorities about the number of killings.
“The parliament of Serbia strongly condemns the crime committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995, as determined by the International Court of Justice ruling,” the resolution reads as quoted by BalkanInsight.
Earlier, Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic had urged lawmakers to adopt the document since it demonstrates Serbs’ “desire to move to regional reconciliation and demonstrate good neighborly relations among the countries in the region,” Reuters wrote.
The International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice have ruled that the atrocities committed in the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina were genocide. Serbian lawmakers, however, avoided using this term. While condemning the crimes and apologizing to the families of the Srebrenica victims for not preventing the mass killings, the resolution does not refer to the events as to an act of genocide.
Supported by the ruling coalition, the document was objected to by the opposition. Some MPs demanded that both parties involved in the Bosnian War in 1992-95 should be condemned, reminding that thousands of Serbs were killed at that time and crimes committed against them were no different from those against the Bosnian Muslims. Others were not happy, since the document was too soft because it did not use the term “genocide”. Unable to reach a consensus, the Serb Progressive Party left the assembly before the vote. The Radicals and the Liberal Democrats did not take part in the vote, albeit for different reasons.
The majority of lawmakers, however, feel relieved over the move, seeing it as an end of a tragic chapter in the Serbian recent history and a door to a new future.
“Condemning the crime against the Bosniaks of Srebrenica, while paying respect to the innocent victims and offering condolences to their families will take the burden off future generations which certain individuals have placed on us,” Kolundzija said as quoted by BalkanInsight.
In the declaration the parliamentarians also promised to keep cooperating with the ICTY and called for the arrest of former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, who is wanted for war crimes by the UN tribunal. Mladic, who has been on the wanted list since 1995, is charged with “direct involvement in the genocide committed after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995” and “terror inflicted upon civilians during the 1992-1995 siege of Sarajevo,” the ICTY official website states.
The adoption of the Srebrenica declaration might have caused mixed reactions in the former Yugoslavian states, but it is certainly an important move. According to Srebrenica Municipal President Osman Sujić, it confirms Serbia’s significance in the region, Serbian B92 broadcasting company reported.
“In any case it will bring, in my opinion, a stabilization of a wider region, because Serbia is one of the dominant political factors in the region,” he said.
Natalia Makarova, RT
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DDGirl, You have no clue what you are talking about. I have no idea why I get so shocked by the amount of ignorance displayed in your posts, and the apparent pride of displaying it in the full view of the public! My, my. Let's just randomly pick some of the absolute jewels of your "reasoning". ".... I don't like that you are lumping bosnian muslims in with terorists. What did they do to deserve that? Did they invade a neighboring country because they didn't want them to become independent democratic county? Tried to kill off most of the inhabitants of the said country?" Wow! You are mistaken. Nobody is lumping Bosnian Muslims with the terrorists. Bosnian Moslems, Serbs and Croats were neighbors, friends and relatives. One side did not come from the Mars to destroy another. That is your broad-brush ignorance based perception. Now, did Bosnians invade a neighboring country, because they did not want them to become independent democratic ountry? And when was Bosnia (ever) in its history, that is, since the Slavs presumed arrival to Balkans, an independent country --- democratic or otherwise? So, presumably some other "country" invaded this never-before-existing country, and tried to kill most of its inhabitants --- Moslems, Croats, Jews? You cannot "invade" a country that was never a country. Serbs in Bosnia were not "invaders" from another country, they lived on that land for as long as history records exist --- as a MAJORITY. And, what about "trying to kill most of inhabitants"? Serbs AND Moslems were ALLIES in western Bosnia, and fought and died together against US-propped Izetbegovic in Sarajevo. Croatians were forced to join Izetbegovic. Clinton told Izetbegovic to withdraw signature on Lisbon agreement, plunging the land into civil war. For that, Fikret Abdic, Moslem leader and Serb ally is being kept POLITICAL PRISONER in Croatia, silenced for ever --- as we idly chit-chat in this or other forums!
April 04, 2010, 12:55, Marzipan6 wrote > To DDGirl: I’ve noticed from participating in various forums such as this that people who wish to avoid facing up to crimes against humanity follow one of two broad strategies: either they attempt to drill down to technical details to such an extreme degree that they lose touch with reality (Mbach’s post is an example), or ignore details altogether to the extent of losing touch with reality (those who assert that Stalin “liberated” Eastern Europe usually provide good examples of such an approach). > Such tactics are not limited to nationality, age, gender or apparent level of education. Their only common denominator seems to be a relentless determination to avoid at all costs acknowledging the reality of crimes committed against humanity by parties that they, on the basis of their emotion or prejudice or dogma, are committed to defend. And strangely enough, no amount of factual information brought to bear to highlight the logical and factual flaws of their reasoning changes their position at all. It seems that they do not judge their viewpoints on the basis of facts, but rather judge facts on the basis of their viewpoints, and they seem genuinely unable to stand to one side as it were, and see themselves doing this. > I have never seen even one such doctrinnaire thinker ever acknowledge that they have been mistaken in anything. An exchange of views does not seem capable of helping them. But it can provide insights for other readers who are in a position to dispassionately examine the presented arguments, and gain deeper insights into the matter as a result. I believe that this is the primary value of such discussions. Marzipan, kudos to you. You've hit the nail on the head with both of your posts.
@Bianca very good comment, you speak as somebody who really understood the nature of the conflict. I just want to say that Srebrenica massacre NEVER happened ! Srebrenica is greatly exaggerated number of Muslim combatants killed in conflict Al that was premeditated propaganda by U.S./NATO to label Serbs as aggressors, in civil war where they were actually only defending their homes just like 2 other sides... Serbian Quisling government apologizes cause they are U.S. puppets brought in power by CIA sponsored "color revolution" They hope like that to enter in EU which will never happen!