Serbia / Srebrenica Massacre / European Union

Serbia Apologizes for 1995 Massacre
Reuters dispatch in The New York Times, March 30, 2010
"Serbia's parliament apologised on Wednesday for the 1995 killing of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, but the process only highlighted how deeply polarised the country remains about its wartime past. The resolution expressed sympathy to victims and apologised for not doing enough to prevent the massacre, but stopped short of calling the killings 'genocide.' The ruling coalition of pro-Western Democrats and Socialists hopes to win EU and investor favour with measure, which was adopted after debate over nearly 13 hours broadcast on live television ending after midnight. '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 strongman Slobodan Milosevic during the 1990s. Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladic killed about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys after taking over the eastern enclave that was put under the U.N. protection. The massacre is Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two. One Western diplomat stationed in Bosnia when the Srebrenica massacre occurred said passing the resolution without arresting Mladic meant little. 'As a substitute, it's offensive, it's an insult. Done in tandem with a legal step, then it's significant,' the diplomat said. 'If they think they can let Mladic run free for another 15 years, it's a grave injustice.' Belgrade applied for European Union membership in December but must capture and send Mladic to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague before starting talks. The former general, hailed as a hero by many Serbs, is believed to be hiding in Serbia. [...]"