Bosnian Serb Leader Reaffirms Plan to Break Away from Bosnia Before UN Decision on Genocide

Bosnian Serb Leader Threatens Secession Ahead of U.N. Vote on Srebrenica Genocide Commemoration

SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Tensions are running high in Bosnia as the leader of the country’s Serb territory, Milorad Dodik, reiterated his threat to secede from the Balkan nation. This comes just a day before a planned U.N. vote on establishing an annual day to commemorate the 1995 genocide of over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs.

The proposed U.N. resolution, sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, has sparked protests and a strong lobbying campaign against the measure by Dodik and the populist president of neighboring Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. The two leaders argue that the resolution would unfairly brand all Serbs as genocidal, despite the draft not explicitly mentioning Serbs as culprits.

The 1995 Srebrenica genocide saw Bosnian Serbs overrun a U.N.-protected safe area, separating and slaughtering thousands of Muslim Bosniak men and boys. The U.N. General Assembly is set to debate the resolution on Thursday, with Serbs having the support of Russia and China, while the U.S. and most Western states back the resolution.

Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, has previously threatened to secede from Bosnia and join Serbia. The resolution condemns any denial of the Srebrenica genocide and actions that glorify war criminals. The International Court of Justice has determined the acts in Srebrenica as genocide, making it Europe’s first genocide since the Holocaust.

Vucic and Dodik have campaigned against the resolution, fearing potential war damages and trials for their involvement in the Bosnian bloodshed. Despite their denial, the tribunal in The Hague has convicted numerous Bosnian Serb officials for their roles in the genocide. The resolution has sparked a massive campaign against it in Serbia and the Serb-controlled areas of Bosnia, with billboards and displays asserting “Serbs are not genocidal people.”