This is a most positive step. Apology for atrocities is an unavoidable “must do” if a nation wishes to regain both its self-respect, the respect and trust of its neighbours, and wants to be considered as part of the civilized world. It remains for Russia to follow the example of both Germany and Serbia, and apologise for atrocities which Russians committed at home and abroad in the service of the Soviet State.

They should never have agreed to do this. Not after they were found NOT GUILTY by due process in a criminal tribunal. I feel sorry that the Serbians have been so ganged up on and maligned by both the media and the uninformed/biased public, most of whom have never met, nor heard the accounts what happened and why from Serbs who lived there at the time. I truly hope that Serbians continue to hold their head high and refuse to be cowed into accepting this.

@mbach And HOW you suggest that "Serbians continue to hold their head high" ?!? I'm Serb and can't understand that people in the world are so blind and trust what they read or hear on the Western media! Serbia is occupied country ever since NATO attack ! And today Serb government is CIA "color revolution" imposed government. Mr. Tadic is even reelected be cause people are brain washed for the decades! They believe that with the concessions will be let to enter into EU. I know that will never happen but majority people don't know that. Everithing in Serbia is controled by George Soros, NGO's installed by USA, spays, puppet government. EVERYTHING is controlled by USA, Germany today in Serbia! Those who oppose are removed! Srebrenica is invention of Western PROPAGANDA and West has forced Serb PUPPET government to Serbia apologize so that NATO criminals can justify their AGGRESSION on Yugoslavia and their killings of innocent civilians! As for you Marzipan6 - you people from the Balicts with your SS NAZI past you are the last one to give lesson to anybody or ask apologize!

April 02, 2010, 21:09, mbach wrote > They should never have agreed to do this. Not after they were found NOT GUILTY by due process in a criminal tribunal. > I feel sorry that the Serbians have been so ganged up on and maligned by both the media and the uninformed/biased public, most of whom have never met, nor heard the accounts what happened and why from Serbs who lived there at the time. > I truly hope that Serbians continue to hold their head high and refuse to be cowed into accepting this. So my "friend", according to you the genocide did not happen and was not committed by serbians. My goodness, then those thousands of witnesses of the so called "genocide" suffered of some kind of mass halucination. Those thousands of men and little boys have just decided one day to kill themselves and just pile themselves in a mass grave. Maybe thousands upon thousands of us who have witnessed the attrocities on a daily basis during the war are just plumb crazy. Sure, we gotta blame somebody, the little green men or .... wait, we could blame the "poor, innocent" serbians, yup that sure is more believable than blaming the martians. In that case why should Serbia appologise, they didn't do anything wrong.

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.

Serbia have alsways been the target for blame. Like the ones they fought is entirely innocent. You wont make me belive that the muslims didnt do any thing at all, we all know how full of hate the "religion of peace" really is. Still, blame serbia, take away their land and give it to the muslim seperatists... After the entire west turned on them and bombed the shit out of them. Its embarassing how stupid and blind we are.

April 04, 2010, 14:19, Eremitt wrote > Serbia have alsways been the target for blame. > Like the ones they fought is entirely innocent. > You wont make me belive that the muslims didnt do any thing at all, we all know how full of hate the "religion of peace" really is. > Still, blame serbia, take away their land and give it to the muslim seperatists... After the entire west turned on them and bombed the shit out of them. > Its embarassing how stupid and blind we are. No one is saying that the other side (the one you're calling muslims BTW serbs tried to ethnically clense Bosnia of every religion other their own, that means they fought muslims, roman catholics, jews and any other minority we got) were angels either. I'm not you after all. I don't close my eyes and my ears and claim that not even one bad thing was committed by the bosnian army. I'm hoping that all claims of foul play will be properly investigated and that the bosnian government will issue an apology as well. 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? After the world stepped in and stoped them, did they turn on the kosovars and tried to do the same? I think not!!! I know it's hard not to view muslims as villains these days. Can't say I blame you, with everything that's happened since 9/11. But remember, Bosnia is not in the Middle East, never was, never will. As for you saying that,quote "take away their land and give it to the muslim seperatists" I think, and you correct me if I'm mistaken, you mean Kosovo by that. I think of Kosovo as an abused child. You abuse it, starve it, try to kill it and the dep. of child svcs (aka the world) will take it away.

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.

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!