Foreign Minister: U.N. Resolution on Srebrenica to Cause Further Division in the Balkans

Marko Djuric (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said in an article for the portal Politico, published on May 22, that the adoption of a draft resolution on Srebrenica by the United Nations General Assembly would cause further divisions in the Balkans.

In the op-ed for the Brussels-based portal, Djuric has said that arriving at an agreement to commemorate the past in a way that does not create divisions is the best way to ensure that it does not repeat itself.

On May 23, the U.N. General Assembly will discuss the draft resolution to establish July 11 as a day to commemorate the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. The Serbian foreign minister has cautioned that while the proponents of the resolution claim it‘s an important step towards reconciliation, it will likely "sow further discord in the Balkans."

"No one can deny that terrible war crimes occurred during the Balkan wars. Only political extremists may dismiss the argument that unspeakable crimes were committed in Srebrenica. And only the most senseless may be unwilling to acknowledge and honor those victims," Djuric wrote, adding that the focus of the proposed document is very narrowly, and that it was crafted without consulting all regional communities and parties involved in the Balkan wars.