Srebrenica survivors seek protection of Memorial Center from RS pressure

They have sent a request for an urgent response and protection of the integrity of the Srebrenica Memorial Center from institutional pressure by RS authorities to the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR), members of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) Steering Board, the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina/EU Special Representative, the OSCE Mission to BiH, and the embassies of the United States, United Kingdom, Federal Republic of Germany and French Republic in BiH.

"We are addressing you on behalf of survivors and families of those killed and missing in the Srebrenica genocide, regarding the alarming and coordinated pressure that the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center has faced in recent weeks from the authorities and inspection services of Republika Srpska, under the pretext of alleged financial checks," the associations said.

They recalled that the Memorial Center was established by a decision of the High Representative and through the adoption of a law by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a state institution of immeasurable importance for justice, truth and preserving the memory of the victims of genocide.

"For this reason, it is unacceptable for this institution to be subjected to administrative and police pressure by entity structures whose highest officials openly deny the genocide and seek to discredit its work," they stressed.

"We call on the High Representative and representatives of the international community to respond publicly and decisively. We call on the OHR and PIC members to clearly condemn attempts by entity authorities to assume jurisdiction over the state institution in Potocari or to exert pressure on its work in any way. We call for the protection of state-level competencies and for you to use your mandate to warn the authorities of Republika Srpska of their obligation to respect the state-level status of the Memorial Center and to ensure that any reviews of its operations are conducted exclusively through the competent state institutions, in accordance with their legal powers – the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and the Audit Office of the Institutions of BiH," the associations said.

They also called on the OSCE Mission and the EU Office in BiH to establish direct monitoring of the process to prevent further intimidation of employees and obstruction of the Center’s work.

"We believe that it is your duty, as guarantors of the civilian implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement and international representatives who participated in the establishment of this institution, to prevent the abuse of entity mechanisms of power against an institution that preserves the memory of the victims of genocide," the associations said in the letter signed by representatives of the associations Victims and Witnesses of Genocide, Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa, Women of Podrinje, Srebrenica Mothers and Women of Srebrenica.