HRW outraged by Srebrenica failings

BRUSSELS, July 9 (UPI) -- As the anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre approaches, the search for the architect of the atrocity must coincide with memorials, Human Rights Watch said.

Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general who led the Scorpions paramilitary force, remains at large 15 years after the massacre at Srebrenica.

"What happened in Srebrenica requires justice as well as memorialization," said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Ratko Mladic's liberty is an affront to both."

Bosnia Serb forces took control over a U.N. safe area in Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, later killing at least 7,000 Bosnian men and boys.

Human Rights Watch said that as the events fade, the European Union has grown lax in its demands for justice as Serbia undergoes the necessary steps toward EU membership.

"The EU's softening resolve on Mladic's arrest sends the wrong message to Serbia," Cartner said. "The EU has an obligation to use its leverage to help deliver justice for the victims of Srebrenica."

Radovan Karadzic, the wartime Bosnian Serb president, is on trail at a war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for crimes against humanity, including genocide.

The Serbian government has made repeated pledges to detain the general, HRW adds.