Srebrenica Update

[Ivo Skoric]

Srebrenica: Call to support the request of compensation for the 
survivors
http://www.petitiononline.com/srebreEn/petition.html

Bosnian Serbs apologize for Srebrenica massacre
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Wed Nov 10,12:45 PM ET

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Hercegovina (AFP) - Bosnian Serb authorities 
apologized for the first time to relatives of around 8,000 Muslims
killed by Serb forces in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Europe's worst
atrocity since World War II.

"The government of Republika Srpska sympathizes with the pain of
relatives of the Srebrenica victims and expresses sincere regrets and
apologies over the tragedy which has happened to them," a government
statement said.

The Bosnian Serb government accepted last month an internal report by
a special investigative commission acknowledging that almost 8,000
Muslims were killed in the massacre, in the final stages of Bosnia's
1992-95 war.

The report marked the first time Bosnian Serb authorities have
admitted the scale of the massacre after its troops overran the
UN-protected enclave.

Serb authorities had previously downplayed the slaughter -- classed 
as an act of genocide by the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague -- 
but the report's toll of up to 8,000 victims is in line with 
independent estimates.

Muslim men and boys were separated from the women and murdered over
several days after Serb forces swept through the eastern region. So
far more than 6,000 bodies have been exhumed from mass graves near
Srebrenica.

Republika Srpska is the Serb-run entity which along with the 
Muslim-Croat Federation makes up post-war Bosnia. Srebrenica was a
predominantly Muslim town before the war but it is now part of
Republika Srpska.

The Bosnian Serb government also said it was committed to bring to
justice those responsible for the massacre -- a key demand of the
international community and the relatives of the victims.

"The Republika Srpska government is committed and is undertaking
decisive steps to bring to justice all those who committed war
crimes," the government said.

The UN war crimes tribunal has indicted Bosnian Serb wartime leader
Radovan Karadzic and his military commander, Ratko Mladic, for
genocide for their alleged roles in the massacre.

Although the war ended nine years ago the two still remain at large,
hiding somewhere in the former Yugoslavia where they are still
regarded as heroes by their hardline supporters.

The Republika Srpska is the only territory of the former Yugoslavia
that has yet to arrest a single war crimes suspect despite relentless
international pressure and sanctions.

Survivors of the massacre as well as the international community
welcomed the apology while continuing to demand action to arrest 
those responsible.

The Dutch embassy in Sarajevo released a statement on behalf of the 
EU presidency congratulating the Bosnian Serb authorities for their
"courageous work".

But it also called on them to make "fresh efforts ... to bring those
responsible for crimes to justice".

Dutch soldiers were charged with protecting Srebrenica at the time of
the massacre in July, 1995, but the lightly armed contingent could do
nothing to stop the Serb capture of the town.

The head of the association of Srebrenica mothers, Munira Subasic,
said the report was an "important step towards justice" but warned it
would be meaningless without the arrest of the culprits.

"The apology is very mild," said Subasic, who lost her son, husband
and over 20 family members in the massacre.

"It is very important now that the RS government begins to arrest the
perpetrators. That would be a true apology for us."

Several Bosnian Serbs have been convicted by the UN war crimes court
for their roles in the atrocity, including general Radislav Krstic 
who was sentenced in 2001 to 46 years for genocide.

Bosnia's war claimed some 200,000 lives and forced more than two
million people, over half the country's population, to flee their
homes.

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Resources:
http://balkansnet.org/srebrenica.html---------------------------------
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Ivo Skoric
19 Baxter Street
Rutland VT 05701
802.775.7257
ivo at balkansnet.org
balkansnet.org