Anger on both sides as Bosnian Muslims and Serbs fault declaration on Srebrenica

BOTH BOSNIAN Muslims and Serb nationalists have sharply criticised a declaration by Serbia’s parliament condemning the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 men and boys.

After 13 hours of heated debate in the assembly in Belgrade, a narrow majority of MPs voted in favour of a resolution expressing sympathy for the victims of Srebrenica and their relatives and apologising for Serbia’s failure to do more to prevent the slaughter of Bosnian Muslims.

But while liberals hailed the declaration as a milestone in Serbia’s effort to break with the past and move towards the European Union, nationalists called it a betrayal, while Bosnian Muslims were furious that it failed to call events at Srebrenica “genocide”.

“This resolution means nothing to us and we will not accept it. We will hail a resolution that mentions the term genocide,” said Sabra Kolenovic of the group Mothers of Srebrenica. “We, the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, will never allow that this word – genocide – be erased.”

Munira Subasic, whose husband and son were murdered when Bosnian Serb forces led by Ratko Mladic overran the United Nations “safe haven” of Srebrenica, urged Belgrade to focus not on declarations, but on punishing the fugitive Gen Mladic and others responsible for atrocities.

“Many criminals who slaughtered and killed our children fled to Serbia, where they live as free citizens and enjoy full rights,” she said. “There is no apology for the crimes. The justice can only be served once all the criminals responsible for the atrocity are named and held accountable.”

Serbia is likely to find its path into the EU blocked until Gen Mladic is caught, but members of the country’s pro-western ruling coalition have called the declaration a historic landmark.

“We are taking a civilised step of politically responsible people, based on political conviction, for the war crime that happened in Srebrenica,” said Branko Ruzic, whose Socialist party was led by nationalist president Slobodan Milosevic in the war-torn 1990s.

Nationalist MPs in Serbia said the declaration would wrongly taint all Serbs with guilt, while the resolution was also criticised in the Serb-run part of Bosnia.

Meanwhile, the EU yesterday welcomed the Serbian parliament’s move. Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a joint statement with enlargement commissioner Stefan Fule: “This is not only important for Serbia, it is the key for the reconciliation for the whole region.”