OSCE Mission Head: Controversial Srebrenica photo must not be politicised

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The discussion over a controversial photo of a group of students with the caption 'Brothers Chetniks’ written above it should not be politicised and leaders and parents in the community should act responsibly, especially since children are involved, the Head of the OSCE mission in Bosnia, Kathleen Kavalec, told the media on Thursday.

Kavalec met with Srebrenica’s authorities to discuss a number of issues, including the most recent incident.

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The photo of the nine students wearing traditional Serbian attire was posted with the controversial caption on social media on Monday. It was taken in a local primary school which organised its celebration of Saint Sava Day, an Orthodox Christian holiday, on the same day.

The Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army was a WWII Serb nationalist movement. During the 1992-95 Bosnian war, Serb nationalists wearing Chetnik insignia committed numerous crimes against humanity against the non-Serb population in the Bosnia – including the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.

Parents of Bosniak students attending the First Primary School Srebrenica expressed fear for their children’s safety, while numerous Bosniak officials criticised the management of the school, as well as the overall education system in Bosnia’s Serb-majority semi-autonomous entity of Republika Srpska (RS). The principal of the school argued that the photo was not taken at the institution’s official celebration.

“We discussed during our meeting the interest of the OSCE in supporting more efforts in developing response mechanisms to bias-motivated incidents and rhetoric. We agreed that, in light of recent incidents, tensions need to be eased,” Kavalec said after meeting with Srebrenica’s Mayor Mladen Grujicic and his deputy, Hamdija Fejzic.

“Local leadership has a very important role in guiding the community and politicians are the ones that lead by example and contribute to positive relations in the community,” she said, adding that those participating in the meeting agreed that “this is not a moment to politicise this and that it’s important to understand what happened and why it happened.”

She urged the school management to “act responsibly, particularly since children are involved.”

Kavalec said that her primary concern is “for the students and for the importance of increasing understanding among them as to the significance and the sensitivities that are involved, particularly when it concerns young people.” 

She stressed that “we, as parents and community leaders, need to help them understand the impact of these types of activities.”

Kavalec pointed out that similar incidents take place across the world and that parents and community leaders have the role to “help the children understand what is appropriate and what is not,” as well as “the danger of using social media in a way that might come back to harm them.”

Economic issues in the area were also discussed at the meeting, including what municipal authorities have done to invest in the economy and to attract more business and jobs for the citizens, she said.

She reiterated the OSCE’s commitment supporting Srebrenica “and all the efforts to bring people together in the community,” adding that the organisation will “remain a dedicated partner and true friend to Srebrenica and its citizens in building a better future for all.”