Current:Home > NewsOutgoing Dutch PM begins his Bosnia visit at memorial to Srebrenica genocide victims-LoTradeCoin
Outgoing Dutch PM begins his Bosnia visit at memorial to Srebrenica genocide victims
View Date:2024-12-24 02:28:34
SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday began a two-day visit to Bosnia with a stop in Srebrenica, where he paid his respects to victims of the 1995 genocide.
The Netherlands has long wrestled with the legacy of the massacre, Europe’s only acknowledged genocide since the Holocaust. Dutch troops served as U.N. peacekeepers in the town during war in the Balkans but were overrun by Bosnian Serb forces who went on to kill more than 8,000 Bosniak — mostly Muslim — men and boys.
Victims’ remains are still being unearthed from mass graves and identified.
Rutte on Tuesday will join European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic for discussions about Bosnia’s bid to join the European Union.
Bosnia remains ethnically divided and politically unstable long after the end of the 1992-95 war that killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions.
In 2002, then-Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok resigned after a report harshly criticized Dutch authorities for sending soldiers into a danger zone without a proper mandate or the weapons needed to protect about 30,000 refugees who had fled to the Dutch base in eastern Bosnia.
In 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that the Netherlands was partially liable in the deaths of about 350 Muslim men killed by Bosnian Serb forces during the massacre.
In Srebrenica, Rutte laid a wreath at the memorial site. He was accompanied by a delegation from the Mothers of Srebrenica group that represents survivors whose family members were killed.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- IAT Community Introduce
- Billions of people lack access to clean drinking water, U.N. report finds
- Save 30% On Spanx Shorts and Step up Your Spring Style With These Top-Sellers
- GOP Fails to Kill Methane Rule in a Capitol Hill Defeat for Oil and Gas Industry
- Travis Kelce's and Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Houses Burglarized
- Country Singer Jimmie Allen Apologizes to Estranged Wife Alexis for Affair
- As Trump Touts Ethanol, Scientists Question the Fuel’s Climate Claims
- Medicaid renewals are starting. Those who don't reenroll could get kicked off
- Brands Our Editors Are Thankful For in 2024
- Trump EPA’s ‘Secret Science’ Rule Would Dismiss Studies That Could Hold Clues to Covid-19
Ranking
- Justine Bateman feels like she can breathe again in 'new era' after Trump win
- EU Utilities Vow End to Coal After 2020, as Trump Promises Revival
- With Tax Credit in Doubt, Wind Industry Ponders if It Can Stand on Its Own
- A roadblock to life-saving addiction treatment is gone. Now what?
- Who will be in the top 12? Our College Football Playoff ranking projection
- Ex-Soldiers Recruited by U.S. Utilities for Clean Energy Jobs
- Lisa Vanderpump Defends Her Support for Tom Sandoval During Vanderpump Rules Finale
- Joe Biden Must Convince Climate Voters He’s a True Believer
Recommendation
-
Amazon Prime Video to stream Diamond Sports' regional networks
-
Tweeting directly from your brain (and what's next)
-
Changing our clocks is a health hazard. Just ask a sleep doctor
-
GOP Fails to Kill Methane Rule in a Capitol Hill Defeat for Oil and Gas Industry
-
Mississippi governor intent on income tax cut even if states receive less federal money
-
What's driving the battery fires with e-bikes and scooters?
-
Rachel Bilson Baffled After Losing a Job Over Her Comments About Sex
-
Megan Fox Rocks Sheer Look at Sports Illustrated Event With Machine Gun Kelly