The former commander of the Dutchbat peacekeeping forces in Bosnia may be prosecuted for the massacre in Srebrenica in 1995.

Colonel Thom Karremans was in charge of the troops responsible for the protection of a Muslim enclave in a Serb-Christian region. However the peacekeepers allowed Serb soldiers to take control of the town who then went on to massacres of over 8000 Muslim men and boys.

The National Reflection Committee has now advised Dutch prosecutors to bring charges against the colonel, although prosecutors do not have to follow the advice.

Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander controlling the perpetrators of the massacres is due to stand trial on charges of genocide at The Hague next week.

However, supporters of Mladic in Srebrenica are on the verge of a political victory.

A decision made by the election authority earlier this week means that Bosnian Muslims who fled the massacres in the town will not be able to vote in mayoral elections later this year.

Srebrenica was granted exceptional status in 2008, allowing Bosniak Muslims, who had fled the town, to vote in local elections. This resulted in Camil Durakovic, a Muslim, to be elected as mayor.

But with the revocation of the special status, it seems likely that a Serb mayor who denies genocide charges is elected.

''We want the people who were born here and who had to escape the mass murder to be able to vote in Srebrenica,'' Mr Durakovic said.

''Otherwise the town will be taken over by politicians who propagate lies, who negate the genocide.''

The town, which was 75% Bosniak Muslim before the war, is now split evenly between the two communities, however more Serbs are registered voters as many Bosniaks are still registered in the towns and cities where they sought refuge from persecution.