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Turkey sets stage for Serbian apology over Srebrenica
“We have carried developments related to Bosnia and Herzegovina to the center of our policy for the Balkans,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Özügergin told reporters at a web chat session yesterday. “We have brought Bosnia and Herzegovina to the attention of the world.”
Serbia’s Parliament approved a resolution on Wednesday, apologizing for the 1995 killing of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica. It expressed sympathy to victims and apologized for not doing enough to prevent the massacre but stopped short of calling the killings “genocide.” Serbian officials hope to win EU and investor favor with the measure, which was adopted after a debate that took nearly 13 hours and which was broadcast on live television ending after midnight.
Bosnian Serb forces led by Gen. Ratko Mladic killed about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys after taking over the eastern enclave that was put under UN protection. The massacre is Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II.
Özügergin said the resolution was a major step taken in the direction of reconciliation between the peoples of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said improvement in ties between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia was an indispensable condition to create an atmosphere of reconciliation and tolerance in the Balkans, which went through a period of turmoil in the past decade.
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have met several times in the past several months to help reconciliation between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in an initiative spearheaded by Turkey. Turkish officials say the credit goes to Serbia for agreeing to offer a formal apology over the Srebrenica massacre, underlining that it is Serbia’s own decision because pressure from a foreign country simply would not work.
But a Serbian official speaking to Today’s Zaman on condition of anonymity said Bosnia and Herzegovina’s recent decision to appoint an ambassador to Serbia, which is a major step for reconciliation, would not have happened had Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu not shuttled between the two countries trying to broker a deal. “There was an atmosphere of chaos before. We thank Mr. Davutoğlu for resolving the deadlock,” the official said.
Ankara has also closely followed the process that eventually resulted in the Serbian apology. Turkish officials have carefully remained low key while trying to help the two sides reach an understanding over the content of the apology. But sources say Davutoğlu had seen the text of the resolution approved in the Serbian Parliament long before the vote.
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