Special status for Srebrenica

Several hundred returnees claim Srebrenica should be excluded from the jurisdiction of Republika Srpska (RS), because the International Court of Justice, ICJ, declared in February that it holds RS forces accountable for genocide which took place in this eastern Bosnian town in 1995. The ICJ acquitted Serbia of responsibility for the Srebrenica genocide and put the blame on Bosnian Serb forces. Muslim returnees to Srebrenica threatened a mass exodus if their demands for special status were not met. Bosnian Serb authorities led by RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik described these attempts to change the status of Srebrenica ‘illegal’ and ‘against the RS constitution’. He also warned that ‘appropriate measures will be taken against all persons who attempt to undermine the integrity of Republika Srpska’.

1. www.iwpr.net

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