The parliament of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity has not annulled the decorations it awarded to convicted war criminals within the three-month deadline Bosnia’s international administrator set for it to do so, and when the moment is right, the High Representative will take action, his office told N1 on Friday.
In early February, High Representative Valentin Inzko, tasked with overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, sent a letter to the RS National Assembly leadership, asking the institution to annul honours it awarded to convicted war criminals within three months.
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In the letter, he pointed out that in 2016, the organizing committee which was established to mark the 25th anniversary of the existence and work of the RS National Assembly awarded special charters and recognitions to “numerous institutions, organizations and individuals.”
“Among those who received them were all former speakers of the National Assembly and members of the First Presidency of the RS, including Radovan Karadzic, Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana Plavsic, whose actions shocked the world during the armed conflict [in Bosnia] and caused unimaginable human suffering,” it said.
The Austrian diplomat stressed that “the glorification of war criminals, including glorification in the form in which we witnessed on October 24, 2016, directly hurts and provokes those who suffered the consequences of the war and damages the memory of the victims” and that it “destabilizes the region and threatens the prospects for reconciliation in BiH.”
He urged the RS Assembly to “show political maturity, moral responsibility and moderation towards the future, by revoking the charters with decorations awarded to convicted war criminals Karadzic, Krajisnik and Plavsic.”
“I am giving you and the RS National Assembly a period of three months, until the end of April 2021 [to do so],” Inzko stated in a letter addressed to RS National Assembly Speaker, Nedjeljko Cubrilovic.
However, the RS National Assembly did not meet the deadline. The request from the letter was on the agenda of its last session, but lawmakers did not discuss it. The session is set to continue in May.
The Office of the High Representative (OHR) told N1 that the international official is “following all activities of political entities as well as institutions” regarding his request.
“When he estimates that it is the most optimal moment, for the benefit of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the function of reconciliation, he will take additional necessary steps,” the OHR said.
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