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SARAJEVO, June 13 (FENA) - Professor of philosophy and studies of the Holocaust and genocide at the State University of Southern Connecticut, David Pettigrew, claims that after the final verdict, Ratko Mladić should primarily face his toxic legacy in the form of Republika Srpska.
Professor Pettigrew, who is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Yale University Genocide Studies Program, spoke at this week's round of the 'Circle 99' session in an online format on the topic "Can Mladić's final verdict affect BiH's civic organization?".
"Mladić's war crimes secured the territory of Republika Srpska, which was recognized and legalized by the Dayton Agreement. It is a recognition that was nothing less than a reward for successful genocide," he pointed out.
He believes that Mladić's toxic legacy continues, not only in the form of banners, murals and honorary plaques, but also through the existence of the Republika Srpska itself, which, for the time being, continues the genocidal war by political means with the aim of achieving ethnic homogeny and undermining Bosnia's sovereignty.
He believes that Republika Srpska and the Russian Federation only support the Dayton PA framework to keep Bosnia and Herzegovina at the deadlock of a non-civic system, a stalemate that prevents a constitutional reform that would allow the transition from ethnically divided constituent peoples to the common dignity and rights of all citizens.
He stressed that the international community must pursue a strategy that would react simultaneously to Banja Luka and Moscow, effectively maintaining Dodik's toxic and destabilizing influence in the region, while neutralizing the malicious influence of the Russian Federation.
"The USA and the EU should accelerate Bosnia's entry into the EU and NATO. Given the fact that BiH was a victim of international aggression from Croatia and Serbia, and consequently suffered war crimes, including genocide, EU and NATO membership should be seen as a matter of restorative justice," he said.
Pettigrew pointed out that such initiatives would create a response to the destabilizing threat from the entity of Republika Srpska and to the toxic legacy of Ratko Mladić.
"Such initiatives would create a space in which constitutional reform could take place so that civic society, based on citizens with equal rights and dignity, could flourish. At this moment, we are still waiting for the promise of the Joseph Biden administration in this regard," he concluded.
(FENA) S. R.
