Srebrenica Memorial Center Director Suljagic addresses US lawmakers, accuses Minister Amidzic of blocking legislation

Suljagic said the latest developments involving the Srebrenica Memorial Center should not be regarded as a legitimate investigation, but as part of what he described as a politically motivated campaign of intimidation.

Suljagic accused Amidzic, along with Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic, of taking part in what he described as a campaign of intimidation against the Memorial Center.

He said Amidzic was personally responsible for blocking legislation and bylaws necessary to make the Srebrenica Memorial Center more independent and financially sustainable.

Suljagic further described the actions as a political campaign targeting Bosniaks working in Srebrenica on the basis of their ethnicity and their place of employment.

He also addressed his message to several US senators and members of the House of Representatives, including Jeanne Shaheen, Roger Wicker, Chuck Grassley, Dick Durbin, Mike Turner and Kevin Mullin.

Amidzic: I don't know why Suljagic is nervous

Amidzic rejected Suljagic's accusations, saying he did not understand why the Memorial Center director was nervous or why there were what he called "hysterical reactions" if the institution was operating in accordance with the law and its work was transparent.

Speaking to the Republika Srpska-based news agency SRNA, Amidzic also questioned why Suljagic was accusing Dodik and Cvijanovic, claiming that it was Suljagic's own associates who had reported him to the authorities.

Amidzic said that anyone who complies with the law has no reason to fear its enforcement. Otherwise, he argued, the question was why an attempt was being made to portray a regular legal procedure as a political incident.

He added that, regardless of what he described as "nervousness and hysteria," neither Suljagic nor the institution he heads "is or can be above the law" or beyond the reach of the rule of law.