Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik told supporters at a rally in Banja Luka on April 18 that the actions of the Republika Srpska Army in Srebrenica in 1995 were "a mistake that left the crime" but again denied it was genocide.
"I want to express my special respect to all the victims and my condolences to their families. It was a crime," he said, addressing thousands of supporters. But he denied it was genocide.
More than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were massacred by Bosnian Serb troops in Srebrenica in July 1995. International courts have ruled it a genocide, and Bosnian Serb army officers and political leaders also have been convicted of genocide by UN judges.
Earlier on April 18, Dodik told the Republika Srpska parliament that genocide "did not happen," adding that "such a qualification must be dismissed." The parliament adopted a report stating that the massacre in Srebrenica did not constitute genocide.
The moves came as Serbia and the Republika Srpska campaign against a resolution under debate at the UN to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide. Dodik said the government of Republika Srpska will spend the whole day in Srebrenica when the resolution is discussed at the UN.
SEE ALSO: Srebrenica To Rename Its Streets…Without Any Mention Of The GenocideDodik, the pro-Russian leader of the ethnic Serbian entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been designated for sanctions by the United States and Britain over alleged destabilization efforts and corruption.
He organized the rally to voice opposition to the resolution, which would declare July 11 as the International Day of the Remembrance of the Genocide committed in Srebrenica in 1995.
The draft resolution, seen by RFE/RL, also calls for the condemnation of any denial of the genocide in Srebrenica and encourages UN members to establish educational programs to prevent future manifestations of revisionism and genocide.
The Serbian people, as well as collective responsibility, are not directly mentioned in this document, which was initiated by Germany and Rwanda. All 193 UN member countries are expected to have their say on the resolution at the UN General Assembly early next month.
Dodik already threatened last week that if the resolution is adopted, "Republika Srpska will withdraw from the decision-making process in Bosnia."
Government representatives from Serbia, including Ana Brnabic, the speaker of the Serbian parliament, and Nikola Selakovic, the acting minister for labor, employment, veterans and social affairs, also attended the rally in Banja Luka. Brnabic said Serbia was in favor of respecting the Dayton accords signed in 1995 bringing an end to the Bosnian War.
"Today in Serbia, there are people in power who will always be with Republika Srpska and with our people. We don't have to think the same, but we will always be together. The harder it gets, the closer we will be," she said.
People attending the rally carried the flags of Republika Srpska and Serbia. Some also held posters bearing the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin. A photo of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serbs' military commander who was also sentenced to life for his role in the genocide, was on one of the banners.
Hundreds of people who attended the rally were bused in from Serbia.