He seems poised to become mayor of a Bosnian town that was marked forever by the events of three days in July 1995, when ethnic Serb fighters massacred about 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys and dumped their bodies in mass graves.
Since Bosnia's war ended later that year, Srebrenica has always had a Bosniak mayor. But Grujicic is a Serb, and like many of his ethnic kin he insists that the massacre was not genocide and the number of its victims is overstated.
While Bosnian Serbs celebrate Grujicic's apparent victory in the October 2 local election, some Bosniaks are angered at the thought of being governed by a genocide denier and vow to do all they can to keep him from power - triggering a new crisis in a state that is still divided and dysfunctional after two decades of fractious peace.
Preliminary results on election night prompted Grujicic's supporters to gather for a victory party at this same cafe on the main street of Srebrenica, which is now a Serb majority town of about 7,000 residents. [...]
Grujicic says he will not interfere with the annual July 11 commemoration of the massacre, but also insists that it is time to focus on boosting the town's ailing economy and improving prospects for its residents.
It is a view shared by many Serbs and Bosniaks in Srebrenica and also, Grujicic says, by Dodik, who has told him that he hopes to visit the town soon.
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