- Hungary plans to oppose a UN resolution commemorating the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, citing potential tensions in the Balkans.
- During a meeting with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, Szijjarto accused the United Nations and Bosnia’s high representative of destabilizing the region.
- The Srebrenica massacre, in which Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslims, remains a controversial issue.
The foreign minister announced on Wednesday that Hungary would vote against a United Nations resolution commemorating the 1995 massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, saying it would increase tensions in the Balkans and the region.
Péter Szijjarto was hosting Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik in the Hungarian capital Budapest, where he was speaking to the United Nations and the High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country devastated by the 1992-1995 war. He accused the country of taking steps aimed at destabilizing the country.
During the conflict, more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were executed by Bosnian Serb forces in the eastern Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica. The remains of the victims were dumped in mass graves and later reburied to hide evidence of the atrocity.
US warns Bosnian Serbs against celebrating controversial self-proclaimed holiday
Szijjarto said on Wednesday that a planned UN resolution on the genocide, which he called the “tragedy of Srebrenica,” meant that Hungary would “intentionally or unintentionally demonize the entire Serbian people. “Therefore, he said he would vote against it.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, the 8th President of Republika Srpska, speaks during a joint press conference with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto in Budapest, Hungary, May 15, 2024. (Szilard Koszticak/MTI, via AP)
“We believe that international political actors must stop the escalation of tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stop the threat of sanctions, and stop violent interference in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s internal affairs,” Szijjarto said.
The UN resolution is supported by Bosniak politicians in Bosnia, as well as many European countries and the United States. Proposed by Germany and Rwanda, July 11th will be designated as the “International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide.”
Bosnian Serbs and neighboring Serbia strongly oppose the move, saying it would brand the Serbs a “genocidal state.” The Serbs are supported by Russia and China.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, recognized the crime in Srebrenica as the first genocide in Europe after World War II. Bosnian Serb military and political leaders have also been convicted of genocide by UN judges.
Dodik, the Bosnian Serb separatist leader of the Serb-majority Republika Srpska, denied that the Srebrenica massacre was a genocide. He was targeted by U.S. sanctions in 2022 for “corrupt activities” that could destabilize the region and undermine a U.S.-brokered peace agreement more than 25 years ago.
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Dodik said on Wednesday that while Serbia “does not dispute that a terrible crime took place in Srebrenica,” the UN resolution “destabilizes the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the point of completely paralyzing all relations.” Ta. He thanked Szijjártó for taking a stand against it.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Emir Srjagić, director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, called Hungary’s position “a very worrying position that cannot be ignored.” Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Hungary of “aligning itself with forces of denial and revisionism, undermining international efforts to recognize and learn from this tragedy.”
“Prime Minister Orbán’s opposition to the Srebrenica resolution can be seen as part of a broader pattern of rejecting international agreements on human rights issues,” Surjagić wrote. “By refusing to acknowledge genocide, Hungary under Orbán is sending a dangerous message that historical truth can be conveniently ignored for political expediency.”
