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BRUSSELS, March 31 (Saba) -- The European Union welcomed here Wednesday the adoption by the Serbian Parliament of the declaration of apology for the Srebrenica massacre, said to be the worst killings committed in Europe since the second world war, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

"This is an important step for the country in facing its recent past, a process which is difficult but essential for Serbian society to go through," said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and EU Commissioner for enlargement Stefan Fule in a joint statement.

"This is not only important for Serbia, it is the key for the reconciliation for the whole region," noted the statement.

The parliament of Serbia earlier today "strongly condemned the crime committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995." Serbian forces murdered 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica after the town was declared a UN safe haven under the protection of Dutch troops.

The EU statement called on Belgrade to fully co-operate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), in particular the arrest and handing over of the remaining fugitives, and to continue the domestic processing of war crimes.
"These are crucial elements for stability and reconciliation in the region and for Serbia's EU accession perspective," it added.

The Bosnian Serb leader at that time, Radovan Karadzic, is under trial for war crimes at the Hague, while the Bosnian Serb general accused as the man responsible for the massacre of the Muslims, Ratko Mladic, is yet to be arrested.

Saba