The declaration on the genocide in Srebrenica, scheduled for a vote at the UN General Assembly, has provoked strong reactions in Serbia, Montenegro, and Republika Srpska. The declaration, submitted by Germany and Rwanda, seeks to designate July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide and will be voted on this afternoon.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has been in New York for two days, engaging with representatives of various countries in an attempt to persuade them to vote against the declaration. The Serbian delegation to the UN organized a panel where testimonies from Serbs about crimes committed by Muslims during the war were presented. In his speech, Vučić argued that “the declaration on Srebrenica will undermine the peaceful coexistence of the peoples in Bosnia.” Serbia’s political leadership contends that “the Srebrenica declaration is a political act of stigmatization of an entire nation.”
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik warned that the adoption of the declaration would signal the end of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The government of Republika Srpska is scheduled to meet this afternoon in Srebrenica to decide on measures to take if the UN votes in favor of the declaration.
In Montenegro, mass demonstrations erupted in protest of the government’s decision to support the Srebrenica declaration. Outside the government building in Podgorica, supporters of Serbian parties, pro-Russian organizations, and clerics of the Serbian Orthodox Church gathered to urge the government to reconsider its stance. Many protesters wore T-shirts with Putin’s photo and the letter “Z” and waved Serbian and Russian flags.
The Serbian Orthodox Church announced that “with the blessing of Patriarch Porfirije, bells will ring at noon in all Orthodox churches, calling the faithful to prayer.” The announcement also stated, “Patriarch Porfirije called on the Serbian Orthodox people to unite in prayer for justice and peace for all peoples, especially those with whom they have shared a common history for centuries.” Russian Patriarch Kirill also called for prayers “in favor of the Orthodox, fraternal, Serbian people.”
Source: ANA-MPA, Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas