The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has asked the Chinese ambassador in Belgrade, Li Ming, that China support his country “in the fight for the truth before the United Nations”.
During a closed-door meeting at the UN, scheduled for April 17, a draft resolution declaring April 11 the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide will be presented, as VOA previously reported.
The authorities in Belgrade, despite the decisions of international courts, deny that genocide was committed against Bosniaks in Srebrenica in 1995.
After meeting with the Chinese ambassador on April 12, Vučić took to Instagram to express his gratitude for China’s “unwavering support for Serbia in world forums.”
“I emphasized that in these difficult times, Serbia appreciates the principled partnership and steel friendship, which was proved by the actions in the most difficult moments”, added Vučić.
At the UN meeting, member states can express their opinions on the final resolution, which is still in the drafting process, and which will be presented to the General Assembly in early May.
In the draft resolution, to which Radio Free Europe had access, it is demanded that any denial of the genocide in Srebrenica be condemned and UN members are encouraged to preserve the established facts and develop appropriate programs through their educational systems in order to prevent revisionism and genocide in the future.
The initiators of the resolution are Germany and Rwanda, but as VOA reported citing unidentified officials, the United States, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Finland, Jordan, New Zealand, Turkey and other countries are expected to participate in the drafting of the resolution.
Bosnian and international courts have said that genocide was committed during the killing of 8,000 Bosnian civilians in 1995 by the Republika Srpska Army in Srebrenica.
So far, more than 50 people have been sentenced to over 700 years in prison for genocide and other crimes committed in Srebrenica.
Meanwhile Republika Srpska will face difficult decisions. This is what its president, Milorad Dodik, declared after the meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Thursday in Belgrade.
Both Banja Luka and Belgrade have expressed concern about a project/resolution that the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina will present to the UN about the Srebrenica massacre. Dodik himself declared that the country may not survive the UN resolution, paving the way for the independence of the Republika Srpska.
Christian Schmidt, the high representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stated that such a move would hardly be supported by Belgrade.
“No one should question the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia. President Vučić does not. It represents the signing of the Dayton Accord, and this should not be questioned, as it is the basis of peaceful developments in Bosnia,” said Schmidt.
Apart from Belgrade, Dodik does not have many allies. He recently welcomed Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, whom he decorated with the high order of Republika Srpska; but there is also Russia. In Moscow, state media called the resolution an attempt by the West to annihilate the Serbs.