Secretary-General, welcoming republika srpska apology for srebrenica tragedy,

says authorities have set example of confronting painful past

The following statement is attributable to the spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General welcomes the conclusions of the authorities of the Republika Srpska regarding the Srebrenica Commission Final Report, particularly the condolences conveyed to the relatives of the victims, as well as its apology for the tragedy in Srebrenica.

The Republika Srpska authorities and the Commission for Investigation of the Events in and around Srebrenica between 10 and 19 July 1995 have set an example of confronting the painful past of the war, facing the truth about the events which occurred during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  This courageous act contributes to building of trust among the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the process of reconciliation.

The Secretary-General expects that the information contained in the Srebrenica Commission Report and the Republika Srpska Government’s commitment to bring to justice all those who committed war crimes will now lead to concrete actions.

The Secretary-General hopes that the Srebrenica Commission Report will open avenues for a broader process of discovering the fact about war crimes and will encourage leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina to start the process that will allow them to candidly consider events from the past.

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