Bosnia's PEN Centre condemns historical revisionism and attacks on anti-fascism

The latest statement by the management board of Bosnia’s PEN Centre came after several of its members left the association in protest of a letter that was published on the PEN website which condemned the commemorative Mass for those killed in Bleiburg that took place in Sarajevo on May 16.

"Following years of sporadic attempts to revise historical facts and the collective memory in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Sarajevo as the capital, to not only continue but also radicalise the education system, the textbooks, the media, the naming of schools, streets, public institutions and similar - we call on the competent municipal, city, cantonal, county, entity and state bodies in the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina to remove the names of all persons for whom there is indisputable evidence that they were part of the fascist ideology, as well as their fascist activities, from the public space," said the PEN statement.

It pointed out that there have been discussions regarding the names of many streets in the country named after Nazi-allied public figures during WWII, such as Sulejman Pacariz Hodza, Osman Rastoder, Asaf Serdarevic, Mustafa Busuladzic, Husein Djozo, Milo Budak, as well as Bosnian Serb war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.

They also noted that, meanwhile, authorities said there was no way to prevent the frequent vandalism at the Partizan cemetery in Mostar.

“All of this, along with numerous other examples, could be interpreted as open and definitive support for historic revisionism and pro-fascist sentiments and as proof that the ideological orientation of state institutions is contrary to the results and traditions of the anti-fascist battles in this region,” it said.

“We condemn and consider unacceptable all attacks on anti-fascism as a principled commitment to peace, freedom, equality and tolerance. We believe that the time has come to clearly and openly, in accordance with the Charter and program goals of the International PEN, oppose various forms of extreme intolerance, division, nationalism, radicalization, and even fascism of our society, which is gradually and visibly expanding for three decades,” it said.

The “reality” created in the country “prevents an open and honest discussion on building hope for the future and establishing a reliable and lasting peace in this area,” they argued.

“The education system, religious institutions and their cultural and educational branches, as well as political actors in the state and society - with all the rights to diversity in democratic freedoms and action - must respect the civilizational achievements and values ​​contained in the achievements of anti-fascism, free from increasingly obvious attempts to the open annulment its historical achievements ", the statement concluded.