Montenegro Sacks Minister Over Srebrenica Comments

Podgorica, Montenegro, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Jun, 2021 ) :Montenegrin MPs voted to dismiss the justice minister on Thursday after comments he made about the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia sparked a political crisis.

Vladimir Leposavic, who is close to the Serbian Orthodox Church and regarded as pro-Serb, said in March that he would acknowledge the killings as a genocide only when it had been "unequivocally determined".

The massacre of roughly 8,000 Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb troops at the end of Bosnia's civil war was declared a genocide by international judges.

But many Serbs throughout the region deny the label and claim military commander Ratko Mladic -- convicted of genocide over the killings -- was merely defending his people.

Leposavic made his comments in response to questions in parliament from Socialist MPs, who are in opposition for the first time in Montenegro's history.

Despite causing huge controversy, Leposavic refused to quit and gained support from a bloc of pro-Russian, pro-Serbian MPs.

Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic then asked MPs to dismiss him, prompting some in the governing coalition to denounce him for failing to consult on the decision.

"By proposing the dismissal of the minister, I took the risk of being marked once again as an enemy and a traitor only for the sake of justice and truth," Krivokapic told parliament.

He said the minister's dismissal was the only way the country could build a civil society and push for European integration.

Out of 80 MPs who voted, 43 supported his dismissal.

Separately, MPs adopted a resolution strongly condemning the Srebrenica genocide and "forbidding" public denial of the crime, though the document is a political statement with no legal force or punishment attached.

Montenegro was part of the same country as Serbia throughout the Bosnia war, partially breaking in 1996 to form a federation and eventually gaining full independence in 2006.

Roughly 29 per cent of Montenegro citizens identify as Serb, and 12 per cent as Muslim or Bosnian Muslim.