The leader of Bosnia’s Serb portion, Milorad Dodik, reiterated his threat to secede from the country ahead of a planned U.N. vote to establish an annual day commemorating the 1995 genocide of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs. The proposed resolution, sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, has sparked protests and a strong lobbying campaign against the measure by Dodik and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. The two leaders argue that the resolution would brand all Serbs as genocidal, although the draft does not explicitly mention Serbs as culprits. The resolution is expected to receive support from the U.S. and most Western states, while the Serbs have the backing of Russia and China.
On July 11, 1995, Bosnian Serbs overran a U.N.-protected safe area in Srebrenica, separating and slaughtering at least 8,000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys. The U.N. General Assembly has scheduled a debate and vote on the resolution, with Dodik claiming that the measure is being forced upon Bosnia by supporters of Muslim Bosniaks and will ultimately lead to the country’s division. Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, has previously threatened to have Serb-controlled territories secede from Bosnia and join Serbia. The Srebrenica killings were a culmination of the Bosnian war in the 1990s, pitting Bosnian Serbs against Croats and Muslim Bosniaks.
The International Court of Justice has ruled that the acts committed in Srebrenica constituted genocide, marking Europe’s first genocide since the Holocaust. Vucic and his government have been lobbying against the resolution at the U.N., arguing that it may lead to war damages and potential trials for participation in the Bosnian conflict. The draft resolution condemns any denial of the Srebrenica genocide and actions that glorify those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Despite this, Serbian and Bosnian Serb officials continue to celebrate Karadzic and Mladic as national heroes, downplaying or even denying the Srebrenica killings.
Dodik and Vucic, both pro-Russian politicians, have raised concerns about the potential implications of the resolution, including the payment of war damages and the possibility of facing trial for their involvement in the Bosnian conflict. Both leaders have conducted a massive campaign against the resolution, displaying billboards and video beams asserting that ‘Serbs are not genocidal people.’ The draft resolution also condemns actions that glorify those responsible for the Srebrenica genocide, including Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, who were convicted of genocide by a special U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.
The proposed U.N. resolution to establish an annual day commemorating the Srebrenica genocide has sparked significant pushback from Bosnian Serb and Serbian leaders, who argue against the implications of the measure. Despite opposition from the Serbs, the resolution is supported by the U.S. and Western states. The resolution condemns any denial of the Srebrenica genocide and actions that glorify those involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The ongoing debate underscores the complex legacy of the Bosnian war and the continuing divisions and tensions within the Balkan region.
