SERBIAN VOTE VINDICATES LONG-HELD TURKISH POLICY
Fulya Ozerkan

Hurriyet Daily News
March 31 2010
Turkey

A decision by Serbia on Wednesday accepting culpability for the
killings of 8,000 Bosnian civilians 15 years ago is seen in Turkish
policy circles as vindication of the country’s long support for Bosnia
and Herzegovina’s quest for justice.

In a prompt statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry welcomed the
declaration by the Serbian parliament as an important step toward
reconciliation between the peoples of Serbia and Bosnia.

"Turkey expresses its appreciation for the visionary leadership
displayed by the leaders of both Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
for their courageous steps taken in this direction and reiterates its
readiness to continue supporting fully their efforts for reconciliation
and normalization through bilateral and regional platforms," the
ministry said.

The Turkish government is trying to foster dialogue in a trilateral
mechanism involving Serbia and Bosnia.

Erhan Turbedar, a Balkans expert at the Ankara-based think tank TEPAV,
said Turkey was one of the countries that brought the apology issue
to the forefront to help the two nations solve their differences.

At the same time, however, he said the Turkish initiative was facing
a backlash.

"The Serbian right-wing opposition was quick to question [Foreign
Minister Ahmet] Davutoglu’s premature remarks that the Serbian
parliament would make an apology for the killings before the Serbian
declaration and, in retaliation, submitted an Armenian genocide
resolution to parliament," said Turbedar.

"It is another question whether the measure passes the parliament or
not but it will garner serious support," he said.

‘Dialogue with Serbia a must’

Another researcher on the Balkans, however, praised the constructive
efforts made by the Turkish leadership and said Ankara had pursued
a wise policy to start dialogue with Serbia to have an influence in
the Balkans.

Gözde Kılıc YaÅ~_ın, a Balkans expert at think tank TUKSAM, said:
"Turkey is aware of the fact that the rights of Albanians and Bosniaks
cannot be improved without good relations with Serbia."

She said while Turkish-Serbian relations were very constrained in
the past, that was no longer the situation today.

YaÅ~_ın, however, said: "Can the Serbian parliament’s apology mean
Turkey’s success? I think that apology was necessary and obligatory."

‘Apology will not solve Bosnian problem’

Another prominent Turkish academic said Turkey had worked hard for
a resolution of the problem between Serbia and Bosnia but also said
European Union pressure also played a key role in forcing the Serbian
parliament vote after years of refusal to do so.

"I think the two processes have fed one another. Will the apology
soften the strain in Bosnia? Maybe in the short term but in the long
run, I don’t think it will resolve the problem because the problem
is even deeper," said Middle East Technical University Professor
Mustafa TurkeÅ~_ said in reference to the political crisis facing
Bosnia and the ambiguous future of the international presence in the
Balkan country.

"The apology would only transform the problem," he said.

Kosovo link

The Serbian resolution, which was finally passed in the early hours
of Wednesday, stopped short of using the word genocide, although it
did refer to an International Court of Justice decision, which uses
the term.

Turbedar said Serbia was making an apology three years after the
International Court of Justice decision. "Serbia is answering a 2007
decision in 2010. Why?" he asked.

The expert also said Serbia took the independence of Kosovo to the same
court over the legality of its unilateral declaration of independence
in 2008.

"Serbians have the expectations that the international court will make
a decision in favor of Serbia but for this decision to have weight,
Serbia must implement the 2007 decision of the court over the 1995
events in Srebrenica," said Turbedar.

"Did Serbia apologize just because it is aware of its cruelty in the
past or to raise its standing in the international arena and score
points on Kosovo?"

He believes Serbia passed the resolution because of the second reason.

Turbedar said: "That apology means nothing for the Bosniacs. Serbian
democracy is, unfortunately, so weak it cannot confront with its past."