The UN on Thursday extended apologies over the ovation given to a militant Serb nationalist song performed at a concert honoring Serbia's presidency of the U.N. General Assembly this past Monday.
The Huffington Post quoted the UN Secretary General's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, as saying that "the United Nations was aware that some people were offended by the song 'March to the Drina,' sung in the General Assembly hall Monday night.
Ban Ki-moon "expressed sincere regret that people were offended by this song," Nesirky said, adding that the UN chief "obviously was not aware what the song was about or the use that has been made of it in the past."
Earlier this week, associations of families of Bosniaks killed in the Srebrenica and Zepa genocide forwarded a protest note to Secretary-General over a video posted on the UN's website in which the "March to the Drina" was performed at the UN during a celebration of Orthodox New Year.
Bosnian media reported on Thursday that those families saw the composition as a symbol of the crime committed by Bosnian Serb troops as they killed more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995.
The victims of the Srebrenica genocide are outraged by the fact that such events, glorifying war crimes and their perpetrators, are being held at the UN, from which a decisive action to stop genocide should have ensued, said Hatidza Mehmedovic, a representative of one of the associations.
The concert was held at the UN on Monday on the occasion of Orthodox New Year hosted by General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic of Serbia, including a performance of "March to the Drina" by Belgrade's Viva Vox choir.
