BELGRADE - The Serbia parliament apologised for the 1995 killing of thousands of an estimated eight thousand Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, but refused to identify the killings as "genocide." The process highlighted how deeply polarized the country is about mass killings of Bosnians. Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic told Reuters last week the resolution should help improve the strained ties with Bosnia. "Srebrenica for us is an event that in the long run should open the door for future cooperation."
Many people in Bosnia said the Serbian resolution came too little and too late.
The European Union gave a cautious welcome to the declaration by the Serbian Parliament that condemned the massacre. However, it warned that what amounted to reluctant, latter-day contrition about the worst massacre in Europe since World War II was insufficient if Serbia wanted closer ties with the E.U. Among other things, the E.U. Foreign Policy chief, Catherine Ashton said, Serbia must hand over Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military commander indicted more than 15 years ago who still has not been brought in.
The apology by the Serbian Parliament passed by a narrow majority of 127 votes in the 250-seat legislature. The New York Times observed that "the vote had divided the country between liberals who saw it as a seminal moment in which Serbia was finally confronting its historic demons and nationalists who saw it as a capitulation to the the West that would tarnish Serbia's international standing for decades." Nationalists called the apology shameful and unjust, and insisted that the genocide had not taken place. "Why do you want to put a mark on the future generation that they will never wash away?" asked Velimir Ilic, a conservative opposition member of Parliament, quoted by Associated Press.
Many people in Bosnia said the Serbian resolution came too little and too late.
The European Union gave a cautious welcome to the declaration by the Serbian Parliament that condemned the massacre. However, it warned that what amounted to reluctant, latter-day contrition about the worst massacre in Europe since World War II was insufficient if Serbia wanted closer ties with the E.U. Among other things, the E.U. Foreign Policy chief, Catherine Ashton said, Serbia must hand over Gen. Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military commander indicted more than 15 years ago who still has not been brought in.
The apology by the Serbian Parliament passed by a narrow majority of 127 votes in the 250-seat legislature. The New York Times observed that "the vote had divided the country between liberals who saw it as a seminal moment in which Serbia was finally confronting its historic demons and nationalists who saw it as a capitulation to the the West that would tarnish Serbia's international standing for decades." Nationalists called the apology shameful and unjust, and insisted that the genocide had not taken place. "Why do you want to put a mark on the future generation that they will never wash away?" asked Velimir Ilic, a conservative opposition member of Parliament, quoted by Associated Press.
Sources:
Reuters (March 30, 2010). Serbia apologizes for Srebrenica massacre.
Bilefsky, Dan (March 31, 2010). E.U. finds Serbia censure lacking. New York Times.
