US Congress addresses Srebrenica

30 June 2005

On Tuesday, June 27, the US Congress House of Representatives has adopted a resolution demanding that those responsible for the Srebrenica massacre be brought to justice.

US Congress adopted Resolution on Srebrenica

The resolution, adopted on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the massacre says that the political aggression and ethnic cleansing conducted by Serb forces in Bosnia with the support of the Yugoslav authorities should be defined as genocide, as defined by Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.

The text of the resolution on Srebrenica adopted by the US Congress House of Representatives this week has been watered down in the Senate, thanks to the intervention of the Serbian Caucus.

The Senate has dumped a reference to the direct support of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia authorities for the politics of the Republic of Srpska during the war in Bosnia. It now refers instead to the regime of Slobodan Milosevic.

The resolution on Srebrenica particularly emphasises that the main responsibility for the Srebrenica massacre is carried by former Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, both of whom are still at large. It points out that it is in the interests of the US that people responsible for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in Bosnia during the war be held responsible for their acts.

The resolution adopted in the Senate and the House of Representatives of the US Congress is not binding, but can bring additional pressure on Belgrade to meet all its obligations to the Hague Tribunal.

(Primari source: B92)

User comments

There are no comments