BELGRADE, Serbia: Parliament of Serbia on Tuesday March 30 approved a declaration condemning the 1995 Serb massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica, in a bid to distance the country from past warmongering under the late strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

The declaration passed with a slim majority of 127 votes in the 250-seat parliament after a daylong debate that underscored persisting divisions in the country over Serbia's role in the 1990s conflict.

"The National Assembly of Serbia harshly condemns the crime committed against the Bosnian residents of Srebrenica in July 1995 ... expressing condolences and apology to the victims' families because not all was done to prevent this tragedy," the declaration says.

The ruling pro-Western coalition that said it would promote regional reconciliation and Serbia's effort to become a member of the European Union put forward the declaration.