Vucic and Russian Ambassador to the UN disinform on Srebrenica resolution: There was pressure to vote

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya made claims at the UN General Assembly about alleged pressure from Western countries and procedural irregularities regarding the proposed resolution on Srebrenica. Vučić accused the West and the UN of threatening UN Member States, while Nebenzya criticised the way the resolution was proposed and adopted. Western officials deny these accusations and stress that they are committed to justice and reconciliation in the Balkans.

What did Vučić and Nebenzya say?

“I am waiting for a response from the powerful and the big, some would say the arrogant. Why did you feel the need to exert such pressure on UN Member States against a small country like Serbia? Why did you threaten countries that did not want to vote in favour, saying that if they did not vote, they would not get your support and your help? Are these European and democratic values, or did you think that I would not talk about this? There is a small country in the Balkans that is not afraid to say that it is voting against because it will open Pandora’s box. You will be confronted with dozens of resolutions and how will you explain that a terrible massacre in which 8 000 people were killed is greater than the massacre of 20 million people in the Second World War,” said Vucic.

“Today we attended a sad chapter at the UN. This is yet another confirmation of the lies of the BiH elites and their Western allies about ignoring the consensus in BiH. The equality of the entities and the three peoples is at the heart of the Dayton Agreement. The procedure for proposing a resolution was not followed, but by a ‘group of friends’ who put forward their own proposal. The Netherlands voted in favour of the resolution, and their battalion played a shameful role in Srebrenica. We see this as a further threat to peace, cynical and hypocritical. The adoption of this resolution is a ‘pyrrhic victory’ for its sponsors. If their aim was to divide the UNSC, they have succeeded brilliantly,” said Nebenzya.

Analysis:

Vucic and Nebenzya’s claims of Western pressure and procedural irregularities regarding the Srebrenica resolution are disinformation aimed at discrediting international efforts to recognise and condemn the genocide.

Nebenz’s allegations of procedural irregularities are also unfounded. The process of proposing a resolution in the UN General Assembly is public and transparent, and the proposal went through all the necessary stages before it came to a vote. The criticism that the Netherlands voted in favour of the resolution despite its role in Srebrenica is an attempt to distract attention from the essence of the resolution, which is the recognition and condemnation of the genocide, not an audit of historical responsibility.

Vucic’s and Nebenzya’s statements are part of a broader propaganda strategy aimed at undermining confidence in international institutions.

The aim of US and EU support for the resolution is to ensure justice for the victims and to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.

US Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Robert Wood said that the resolution on the Srebrenica genocide sends an important signal to Bosnians and other nations around the world that such atrocities will not happen again.

/The Geopost