Nobel winner Handke persona non grata in Sarajevo

By Talha Ozturk, Alma Cekovic and Lejla Biogradlija

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital on Wednesday declared Austrian author Peter Handke persona non grata after the accused war crimes supporter was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

"Worst of all is that Peter Handke hasn't changed his past denial," the Canton Assembly of Sarajevo, the capital, said in a statement after a vote.

Handke won the prize despite his denial of the 1992-1995 Bosnian genocide, claiming the Muslim Bosniaks in Sarajevo had killed themselves.

He also openly supported Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006 while on trial at the international tribunal in The Hague for war crimes and genocide.

Swedish physician Dr. Christina Doctare -- part of the UN peacekeeping team during the Bosnian war -- returned her 1988 Nobel Peace Prize to the Royal Swedish Academy to protest Handke getting the award.

The Turkish, Albanian, Kosovar and Croatian ambassadors to Sweden boycotted Tuesday’s ceremony handing the Nobel to Handke.

Bosnian Croat President Zeljko Komsic said in a statement that the award amounted to praise for the Srebrenica genocide.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic congratulated Handke.