The Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina called on competent institutions to investigate “thoroughly” the threats and acts of intimidation against employees of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre, which came a day after the Centre issued its annual Srebrenica Genocide Denial Report 2023. The international peace envoy also called for the prosecution of those responsible for the threats.

“No threats or intimidation will ever be able to change the facts about the Srebrenica genocide and the suffering of genocide victims and their loved ones, Denial and misinterpretation of these facts are unacceptable and a shame,” said High Representative Christian Schmidt.

He stressed that the work of the Memorial Centre to preserve the memory of genocide victims, together with acknowledging the established facts about the Srebrenica genocide and war crimes committed in BiH, “is indispensable for reconciliation in the BiH society,” noting also that “reconciliation comes with accepting the truth.

The OHR urged everyone to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or actions that do not contribute to peace and reconciliation, and the building of a peaceful and prosperous future for all in BiH.

Schmidt recalled that the amendments to the BiH Criminal Code imposed by his predecessor Valentin Inzko, which among other things ban the genocide denial and glorification of war criminals, “remain in force and will be applied.”

Annual report on Srebrenica genocide deniers has Dodik on top of the list

For the third year in a row, the Srebrenica Memorial Centre published a research document ‘Srebrenica Genocide Denial Report 2023’, which recorded 90 cases of denial of genocide in Srebrenica in the period from May 2022 to May 2023, with President of Republika Srpska entity Milorad Dodik topping the list and one new name on it – Croatian President Zoran Milanovic.

The name of the Croatian President was assessed as a “notable addition to the list of deniers,” and according to the report Milanovic is “increasingly involved in this practice, which represents a significant departure from previous reports.”

Srebrenica Memorial Centre director: Rise in threats against advocates for truth

A day after its publishing, director of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre Emir Suljagic warned that the people who worked on the Srebrenica Genocide Denial Report 2023 are under attack, which he assessed as the “beginning of the retaliation.”

The threats were also condemned by the US Embassy in BiH.