Serbia's parliament apologised today for the 1995 killing of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, but the process only highlighted how deeply polarised the country remains about its wartime past.
The resolution, adopted after a debate of nearly 13 hours that was broadcast on live television and ended after midnight, expressed sympathy to the victims and apologised for not doing enough to prevent the massacre.
But it stopped short of calling the killings "genocide". The measure was approved by 127 of the 149 deputies present in parliament. Some opposition parties left the chamber shortly before the vote.
"With this (declaration) the people of Serbia demonstrated they want to distance themselves from that monstrous crime," President Boris Tadic told a news conference.
The ruling coalition of Tadic's pro-Western Democrats and Socialists - who were led by strongman Slobodan Milosevic during the 1990s - hopes to win EU and investor favour with the measure.
Mr Tadic called it a display of patriotism and a signal of Serbia's desire for regional reconciliation, dismissing criticism that it was acting under international pressure. "This is our decision. Serbia is doing this for itself," he said.
Bosnian Serb forces led by General 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 the second World War.
One Western diplomat stationed in Bosnia when the Srebrenica massacre occured said passing the resolution without arresting Mladic meant little. "As a substitute, it's offensive, it's an insult. Done in tandem with a legal step, then it's significant," the diplomat said. "If they think they can let Mladic run free for another 15 years, it's a grave injustice."
Belgrade applied for European Union membership in December but must capture and send Mladic to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague before starting talks. The former general, hailed as a hero by many Serbs, is believed to be hiding in Serbia.
For some parliamentarians, the resolution was unjust for ignoring war crimes against Serbs. In Srebrenica "the crime was no greater than in other places", said opposition deputy Velimir Ilic, citing neighbouring Croatia's moves against Serbs during the war.
Others, such as Cedomir Jovanovic of a liberal opposition party, criticised it for not branding the Srebrenica killings as genocide. "We wanted a completely different resolution but apparently that is not possible," he told the parliament. "Our society does not have sufficient strength."
Dozens of people protested in front of the parliament, some carrying pictures of Mladic and Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic, who is on trial in The Hague for the Srebrenica genocide.
Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic said last week the resolution should help improve strained ties with Bosnia. "Srebrenica for us is an event that in the long run should open the door for future cooperation," he said.
Yet many in Bosnia, where 100,000 died during the 1992-95 war, found the Serbian resolution too little, too late.
"Many criminals who slaughtered and killed our children fled to Serbia where they live as free citizens and enjoy full rights," said Munira Subasic, the head of a Srebrenica women's association who lost her son and husband in the killings there.
"There is no apology for the crimes. Justice can only be served once all the criminals responsible for the atrocity are named and held accountable," she added.
Reuters