SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has termed the incident involving him getting chased out from a mass-burial ceremony during the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina as politically motivated.
Vucic was forced to flee with his bodyguards Saturday under a hail of stones thrown by mourners at a funeral prayer and burial service for 136 Srebrenica victims, whose remains were recently discovered.
Citizens from the Bosnian village of Potocari – the scene of the genocide of Bosnian Muslim men and boys in 1995 – shouted “justice” and “Vucic leave” as the Serbian premier was immediately manhandled away from the cemetery.
"This was an organized attack laced with political messages. I am happy [to know] that it was not organized by the victims' families. I have heard some Muslims from among the crowd say: ‘he is not guilty’," Vucic said after an emergency government meeting upon his return to the Serbian capital of Belgrade.
He said that he was given a warm welcome by the victims' families, and the Bosniak mayor of Srebrenica, Camil Durakovic, upon his arrival at the memorial and cemetery complex, adding that he refused to hide although he heard slogans demanding that he be "shot".
"I was physically attacked as I was proceeding to the designated seating area, and my glasses fell off my face and broke," Vucic said. "I am sorry that such an incident occurred, and some people did not respond to our intention of building a friendship between Bosnians and Serbs," he added.
The Serbian premier added that he would continue to extend his hand to the Bosnian people, the majority of whom, he claimed, condemned the attack on him.
"I am the one who extends his hand to you, and wants to have peace with you. This is our policy," he said.
Vucic also urged the Serbian people "to not raise their hands to anyone thinking they can do anything they want," as "we have to live together with the Bosniaks in the future, too."
Calling Durakovic "a good person" after he apologized for the incident, Vucic said that he would meet with Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday or Monday.
In his remarks about the incident, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the crowd’s reactions had been “normal”.
Earlier, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had welcomed Vucic's presence at the event, describing it as a "forward-looking approach that is required for the countries of the region to move ahead on their path to the European Union, where their future firmly lies".
Juncker added that Europe was determined to convict those responsible for the massacre of at least 8,000 Bosniak men and boys at the hands of Bosnian Serb paramilitaries in Srebrenica during the country's 1992-95 war.
- Families seek justice
However, Amnesty International said on Saturday that thousands of family members of victims “continue to be denied justice, truth and reparation”.
Amnesty’s Director for Europe and Central Asia John Dalhuisen said: “Two decades after the world averted its gaze from the worst crime to be committed on European soil since 1945, the families of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide are still awaiting justice.”
Amnesty International added that Bosnia had increased resources for the prosecution of war crimes, yet that was “still insufficient” and stated that new investigations had to be launched and witnesses should be provided protection in order to fearlessly testify.
