WIREDGOV

Foreign Office Minister Denis MacShane today condemned a report, published by the Republika Srspka Bureau for Co-operation with ICTY, which has attempted to deny that a massacre of civilians took place at Srebrenica in 1995.

He said:

"I condemn this dishonest attempt to deny history. Eyewitness reports and other evidence show clearly that thousands of Moslem civilians were murdered in and around Srebrenica in July 1995. This was the worst massacre in Europe since the Second World War. Attempts to deny this crime are an insult to the memory of those who died. The authors of this report belong in the same category as those who deny the Holocaust took place.

"I call on the government of Republika Srpska to reject this report, and to cooperate fully with efforts to detain those who have been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in connection with the killings, notably Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. There can be no lasting peace in Bosnia until all individuals who are responsible for the many crimes committed throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina at this time have faced justice."

Press Officer: Kate Ormrod: 020 7270 3517

News Department, Downing Street (West), London SW1A 2AH
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