The United States condemns threats and acts of intimidation against the Srebrenica Memorial Centre and its staff related to their work on the Center’s annual Srebrenica Genocide Denial Report, the US Embassy said on Tuesday, days after the threats were recorded.

The embassy called on relevant institutions to investigate the threats “thoroughly” and prosecute the perpetrators.

“We strongly condemn genocide denial as well as distorted and dishonest portrayals of history. There is far too much of both in today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina. Acknowledging and accepting the facts surrounding the genocide and war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 war are an essential first step toward reconciliation. It is a responsibility that rests on Bosnia and Herzegovina as whole, not just a single ethnic group,” the embassy tweeted.

It also said that the glorification of war criminals “regardless of their ethnicity” as well as efforts to rehabilitate convicted war criminals or minimise their crimes “tears at the fabric of the country’s society by fueling hatred and intolerance.”

“These actions undercut efforts to build a Bosnia and Herzegovina in which all its citizens enjoy peaceful and prosperous lives,” the embassy underlined.

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.

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

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.”