Serbian Prime minister Attacked At Srebrenica Massacre Memorial
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina, July 12 (UPI) — A gathering of mourners transformed into a violent mob at a Srebrenica massacre memorial when Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic arrived with a delegation to lay flowers.
The Serbian politician was first met with jeers and booing. But as tension escalated, angry mourners began hurling debris — including stones — at Vucic and his body guards.
In the waning days of the Bosnian war, a Sebian-supported army of Bosnian Serbs pursued fleeing Bosnian muslims into Srebrenica, a small town in eastern Bosnia that had been declared a safe haven for civilians. Dutch forces there were not able to fend off the aggressors, and Serb forces proceeded to round up some 8,000 Bosnian men and boys to be executed in the fields — hands tied, backs turned. Thousands more where killed as they fled into nearby forests.
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]
Buried in mass graves, and scattered about the countryside, many remain missing 20 years later.
“They never found their remains,” Marc D’Silva, Catholic Relief Services country representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, told NPR’s Lynn Neary. “Every single year, more and more remains are found. This weekend, there’s going to be another 100-some remains that are going to be buried for the first time.”
Bosnian muslims have long called the massacre a genocide. Western nations have attempted to recognize it as such, but Russia (an ally of Serbia) has vetoed attempts to do so at the United Nations. Serbian politicians continue to deny the genocide and claim death tolls have been exaggerated.
Early in his political career, Vucic accused Slobodan Milosevic — president of Serbia throughout the Bosnian wars — of being too soft in his dealings with Bosnian muslims.
Both Vucic and the Serbian president have condemned the most recent incident, calling the mob’s aggression an attempt to fan the flames that sparked ethnic violence 20 years ago.
“No one should remain indifferent towards the savagery of that incident, which recalls those of 1992,” Nikolic said in a statement.
Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief, said the attacks “went against the spirit of this day of remembrance.”
Like Us on Facebook for more stories from GephardtDaily.com
