Genocide denial continues, a toxic narrative with war criminals as heroes perseveres in the RS

The decision was passed on July 23, after the 26th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, and the reaction from the BiH Prosecutor's Office was that they would follow up on cases of genocide denial. However, two years later, the denial of genocide and the continuous glorification of war criminals, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina's entity of Republika Srpska, continued.

"My conscience dictates that I have no right to end my mandate while validly convicted war criminals are glorified. I have no right to ignore the judgments of the Hague Tribunal established by the United Nations Security Council, and I am in charge of the civilian implementation of peace," Inzko said at the time, explaining why he reached for the Bonn powers at the end of his mandate.

It was a rare moment when a diplomat was able to take the initiative in the interest of truth and transitional justice, and his motivation for such a move was to protect the surviving members of the families killed in the genocide from the retraumatization caused by denial of the genocide.

On the occasion of this anniversary, in an interview for FENA, a Professor of Philosophy and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Southern Connecticut State University, David Pettigrew, prof. Ph.D., recalls that this brought hope that the law would reduce the overall number of genocide denial cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, denial of the genocide continued, which is done even by politicians including the president of Republika Srpska and the ruling party of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Milorad Dodik, which has a very negative and dangerous effect.

- In addition, Dodik's denial of genocide is often accompanied by hate speech, such as cursing the genocide in Srebrenica and hate speech against Bosniaks. It is also dangerous because it aims to incite hatred and violence in clear violation of human rights and legal standards," said Pettigrew.

He assesses that so far the competent bodies have not done enough to prosecute denial of genocide or hate speech, and such inaction by institutions has made any efforts at transitional justice in BiH, as a post-genocide society, impossible.

In addition to criminalizing genocide denial, the law imposed by Inzko criminalized the glorification of convicted war criminals, but Pettigrew points out that war criminals are routinely glorified throughout Republika Srpska.

On the hill of Vraca just above Sarajevo, a plaque was placed to the war criminal and former commander of the Republika Srpska Army, Ratko Mladić, a mural at the entrance to Kalinovik is also dedicated to him, and there is a statue in Višegrad that celebrates the "brave defenders", while in other places the so-called "Serb fighters" are glorified".

Another such example is the intention to build the HVO Museum on the site of the former Heliodrom war camp in Herzegovina, and Pettigrew points out that these plaques, murals and statues are themselves a ubiquitous form of denial that celebrate crimes and threaten to repeat them.

"On the other hand, glorification of criminals and celebration of crimes is still not prosecuted. The toxic narrative, which turns war criminals into heroes and genocide into a 'liberation war', has permeated the Republika Srpska. That narrative makes efforts at transitional justice impossible," he underlined.

In addition to the denial of genocide and the glorification of war criminals, memorials to the victims are suppressed or they are forbidden to place memorials at documented places of crime, such as the "Partizan" sports hall, the concentration camp 'Barutni magacin' and the warehouse in Kravica.

"The obliteration of such monuments and museums locks future generations in the entity of Republika Srpska into a narrative of denial and revisionism," warned this distinguished professor.

And while the implementation of the law against the denial of genocide and glorification of war criminals was an important event, there was clearly not enough commitment to prosecution or commemoration, and transformation of culture requires a comprehensive commitment to transitional justice, he points out.

He emphasizes that therefore a team of objective international prosecutors should be retained by the Office of the High Representative and the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) for at least ten years to ensure the prosecution of genocide denial and glorification of war criminals.

Pettigrew believes that this would show that denial and glorification will no longer be tolerated, but in addition, the Office of the High Representative should implement a comprehensive program of support for human rights to truth and remembrance, supporting memorials to victims and commemorations to survivors.

"These are the ways in which we can honor and dignify the memory of the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica, as well as the victims of war crimes throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina - by supporting the survivors. We must devote ourselves to protecting the survivors from re-traumatization and preventing the repetition of the crime," concluded in an interview with FENA a Professor of Philosophy and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Southern Connecticut State University and member of the Board of Directors of the Program for the Study of Genocide at Yale University Ph.D. David Pettigrew.

Since 2021, when the amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina were passed, the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has recorded 71 cases related to the criminal offense of inciting national, racial and religious hatred, discord and intolerance.

"Almost none of them were based on the received report on the committed criminal act, delivered by a police body with evidence, witness statements and everything else necessary for filing an indictment," FENA learned from the BiH Prosecutor's Office.

(FENA) S. R.

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