The European Union is against all attempts to revise history and deny genocide in Srebrenica, spokeswoman for the European Commission Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said on Monday asked to comment on the statement by Serbian President Elect Tomislav Nikolic that genocide did not take place in that Bosnian town.
The European Union rejects in the strongest terms any attempt to revise history and deny the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, Hansen said adding that both the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had qualified the acts committed by Bosnian Serbs in Srebrenica in July 1995, which led to the killing of more than 8,000 persons, as acts of "genocide."
Nikolic, who was elected president last month, said in an interview with Montenegran state TV on Friday: "There was no genocide in Srebrenica."
The right-wing politician conceded that "grave war crimes were committed by some Serbs, who should be found, prosecuted and punished."
Spokeswoman Hansen said the EU had a very clear position on the matter and was prepared to state it whenever it was necessary. She added reconciliation in the region would be on the agenda during President Nikolic's visit to Brussels, scheduled for 14 June, when Nikolic is expected to hold talks with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and High Representative for the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.
The EU expects "a very difficult" meeting with Nikolic, according to diplomatic sources, who also said that Nikolic would be told that his every move would be closely monitored and that Serbia's participation in European integration processes would also depend on his behaviour.
Asked which EU representatives would attend Nikolic's inauguration, Hansen said she had no information about it yet. According to unofficial sources, the inauguration, scheduled for 11 June, will be attended by Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele.
Pietro Marcenaro, Chair of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy and former Rapporteur on reconciliation and political dialogue between the countries of the former Yugoslavia, expressed his concern at Nikolic's view in a statement published today.
Newly elected President of Serbia Tomislav Nikolic has cast a shadow on the post by denying the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, the Parliamentary Assembly expert said.
