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| Serbia to Give $5.4 Million to Bosnian Town, Site of 1995 Massacre | Serbia to Give $5.4 Million to Bosnian Town, Site of 1995 Massacre |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| LONDON — Serbia’s prime minister said Wednesday that his country was donating about $5.4 million to foster economic development in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, where about 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces in 1995. | LONDON — Serbia’s prime minister said Wednesday that his country was donating about $5.4 million to foster economic development in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, where about 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces in 1995. |
| Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic characterized the donation as a gesture of reconciliation. “Serbia looks to the future and wants the best possible relations with Bosniaks, to build up the best future, to spend the next hundred years in peace, to ensure that we all live better,” Mr. Vucic said. “This is our small contribution to the shared future.” | Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic characterized the donation as a gesture of reconciliation. “Serbia looks to the future and wants the best possible relations with Bosniaks, to build up the best future, to spend the next hundred years in peace, to ensure that we all live better,” Mr. Vucic said. “This is our small contribution to the shared future.” |
| While the move was heralded in Serbia as a gesture of good will, it was greeted with some skepticism in Bosnia. Although two international tribunals based at The Hague have ruled that the 1995 killings constituted genocide, in July, Russia, backed by Serbia and Bosnian Serbs, vetoed a draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council that condemned the massacre as a “crime of genocide.” President Tomislav Nikolic of Serbia has apologized for the killings in Srebrenica but has declined to call the episode a genocide. | While the move was heralded in Serbia as a gesture of good will, it was greeted with some skepticism in Bosnia. Although two international tribunals based at The Hague have ruled that the 1995 killings constituted genocide, in July, Russia, backed by Serbia and Bosnian Serbs, vetoed a draft resolution in the United Nations Security Council that condemned the massacre as a “crime of genocide.” President Tomislav Nikolic of Serbia has apologized for the killings in Srebrenica but has declined to call the episode a genocide. |
| Mr. Vucic was confronted by rock-throwing mourners when he went to Srebrenica in July for the 20th anniversary of the massacre. On Wednesday, Mr. Vucic laid flowers and paid his respects to the victims in a ceremony at Srebrenica’s memorial complex. | Mr. Vucic was confronted by rock-throwing mourners when he went to Srebrenica in July for the 20th anniversary of the massacre. On Wednesday, Mr. Vucic laid flowers and paid his respects to the victims in a ceremony at Srebrenica’s memorial complex. |
| Sead Numanovic, the former editor in chief of Avaz, Bosnia’s largest newspaper, said there had been some progress in relations between Serbia and Bosnia. But he warned against what he called Serbia’s attempts to try to whitewash history. | Sead Numanovic, the former editor in chief of Avaz, Bosnia’s largest newspaper, said there had been some progress in relations between Serbia and Bosnia. But he warned against what he called Serbia’s attempts to try to whitewash history. |
| “The Serbs are trying to rebrand themselves on Srebrenica,” Mr. Numanovic said, “but we remember what they did recently, what they did during the war and what they recently did at the U.N., and it will take more than a gesture to change that.” | “The Serbs are trying to rebrand themselves on Srebrenica,” Mr. Numanovic said, “but we remember what they did recently, what they did during the war and what they recently did at the U.N., and it will take more than a gesture to change that.” |
| Elsewhere in the region, Kosovo’s constitutional court temporarily suspended a power-sharing deal brokered by the European Union that would give more autonomy to Serbian municipalities in Serb-majority northern Kosovo, in return for Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo’s authority in the area. The court said it was suspending the deal until it ruled on whether the agreement was constitutional. | Elsewhere in the region, Kosovo’s constitutional court temporarily suspended a power-sharing deal brokered by the European Union that would give more autonomy to Serbian municipalities in Serb-majority northern Kosovo, in return for Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo’s authority in the area. The court said it was suspending the deal until it ruled on whether the agreement was constitutional. |
| Members of Kosovo’s opposition have vociferously opposed the deal. But Kosovo’s president, Atifete Jahjaga, said Kosovo remained committed to the agreement and emphasized that the suspension was temporary. | Members of Kosovo’s opposition have vociferously opposed the deal. But Kosovo’s president, Atifete Jahjaga, said Kosovo remained committed to the agreement and emphasized that the suspension was temporary. |
| In Serbia, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic strongly criticized the move. The Serbian independent broadcaster B92 quoted him as saying that suspending the deal threatened to undermine regional stability. | |
| Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and the two countries, which both aspire to join the European Union, have since been seeking common ground against a backdrop of mutual mistrust and acrimony. | Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and the two countries, which both aspire to join the European Union, have since been seeking common ground against a backdrop of mutual mistrust and acrimony. |