Denial of the Srebrenica Genocide now outlawed in Bosnia

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/24/europe/bosnia-serbs-genocide-denial-law-intl/index.html

Bosnia's outgoing international peace overseer decreed amendments to its criminal code on Friday to allow jail terms for the denial of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, a frequently expressed view among nationalist Serbs.

The decree by High Representative Valentin Inzko sets jail terms of up to five years for anyone who "publicly condones, denies, grossly trivializes or tries to justify" the genocide or war crimes committed during Bosnia's 1992-1995 conflict.

In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces seized the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica in the country's east and killed about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys they took prisoner.

......
It was hailed by top Bosniak politicians and condemned by Bosnian Serbs.

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, a member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, said the decree might lead to the dissolution of the former Yugoslav republic. He repeatedly denied that genocide had occurred in Srebrenica.

"This is the nail in Bosnia's coffin," he told a news conference. "The Republika Srpska has no other option but to start the...dissolution," he said, referring to the semi-autonomous Serb region of Bosnia.

[CumbrianLefty]

Good and overdue news.

[jaymichaud]

What Bosnian would ever deny this happened?

[MaxQue]

What Bosnian would ever deny this happened?

The traitor Serbs still in the territory. Sadly, bleeding heart liberalism made the proper reparation (their expulsion to Serbia) unpalatable for the West.

[Cortarán todas las flores, pero jamás detendrán la primavera]

The traitor Serbs still in the territory. Sadly, bleeding heart liberalism made the proper reparation (their expulsion to Serbia) unpalatable for the West.

You mean bosnian serb politicians specifically or bosnian serbs in general? Cause neither is doable, but the later would be ethnic cleansing.

[Meclazine for Israel]

What Bosnian would ever deny this happened?

The traitor Serbs still in the territory. Sadly, bleeding heart liberalism made the proper reparation (their expulsion to Serbia) unpalatable for the West.

Before the war, Serbs were living peacefully in Sarajevo and throughout the country.

[crals]

What Bosnian would ever deny this happened?

The traitor Serbs still in the territory. Sadly, bleeding heart liberalism made the proper reparation (their expulsion to Serbia) unpalatable for the West.

How exactly would that repair anything?

[CumbrianLefty]

What Bosnian would ever deny this happened?

The traitor Serbs still in the territory. Sadly, bleeding heart liberalism made the proper reparation (their expulsion to Serbia) unpalatable for the West.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

[Lord Halifax]

What Bosnian would ever deny this happened?

The traitor Serbs still in the territory. Sadly, bleeding heart liberalism made the proper reparation (their expulsion to Serbia) unpalatable for the West.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

Srebrenica becoming part of Republika Srpska is a disgrace, and basically means the genocide paid off.  It sets a terrible precedent. 

[Astatine]

Fits best into this thread I guess - Yesterday, former German Mibister of Agriculture Christian Schmidt (CSU) has assumed the position of the High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, succeeding Valentin Inzko who had been serving in that role for 12 years.

In his inauguration speech, he hinted that he might use the powers of his office if needed, which angered Bosnian-Serb representatives, of whom some say they will not even recognize him.
He might be having good intentions, but to start one's tenure in this controversial office with a controversy is politically naïve and makes me question whether he is suited for that position. I don't even know if he has any deep connections to the Balkans (I mean, Agriculture is the only topic he was known for, but I might be wrong, as his confirmation was near unanimous with only Russia opposing).

[Samof94]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/24/europe/bosnia-serbs-genocide-denial-law-intl/index.html

Bosnia's outgoing international peace overseer decreed amendments to its criminal code on Friday to allow jail terms for the denial of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, a frequently expressed view among nationalist Serbs.

The decree by High Representative Valentin Inzko sets jail terms of up to five years for anyone who "publicly condones, denies, grossly trivializes or tries to justify" the genocide or war crimes committed during Bosnia's 1992-1995 conflict.

In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces seized the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica in the country's east and killed about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys they took prisoner.

......
It was hailed by top Bosniak politicians and condemned by Bosnian Serbs.

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, a member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, said the decree might lead to the dissolution of the former Yugoslav republic. He repeatedly denied that genocide had occurred in Srebrenica.

"This is the nail in Bosnia's coffin," he told a news conference. "The Republika Srpska has no other option but to start the...dissolution," he said, referring to the semi-autonomous Serb region of Bosnia.

In Rwanda, genocide denial is also illegal.

[pilskonzept]

Don't really want to open a new thread, as it's kind of related - things have been heating up lately.

Inzko's decision on Genocide denial and Schmidt's nomination/inauguration were already strongly resented by the Republika Srpska leadership (+ Serbia and Russia). Then, at the end of September, two further events ruffled Bosnian Serb feathers.

One, the BiH (i.e. state-level) Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional the RS Law on Forests as it referred to the forests as "property of the republic". It has long been the reading of the "Serb side" that anything that was state property in 1991 has become property of the entities (RS and FBiH) after Dayton, and the reading of the "Bosniak side" that it is (has remained) property of the Bosnian state (i.e. what would be called "federal property" in a normal country, but Bosnia is not a normal country, of course.)

Two, the state-level prosecutors opened an investigation into the procurement of medical oxygen from Croatia by the RS authorities, which was claimed (later confirmed) to have been technical grade, or at least not licensed for medical use. The Federation had already had a scandal involving sub-standard respirators in 2020, and the investigation has been slow and incomplete, in part because the case involved some very well connected individuals, possibly even the Izetbegovic family themselves.

In other words, RS politicians (and media) were able to claim, with some justification, that the state-level judiciary - the creation of which they had only agreed to under pressure - were applying double standards.

So, in early October, Dodik pulled the trigger and announced that Republika Srpska would start to pass laws recreating separate institutions, including a separate Serb army, leaving to the BiH state level only the competencies originally assigned at Dayton.

How far is the Republika Srpska leadership willing to go? No one really knows. The only law passed so far is a law on recreating an entity-level agency for medicines. Which came with an old trick - the law will only enter into force six months after being gazetteered.

There are several semi-separatist RS laws that were passed but never gazetteered. This has usually had three functions: 1) exerting pressure (on the Bosniaks and internationals) to negotiate, 2) getting prepared to enact the laws when there is a more geopolitically favorable environment, and 3) getting the voters to rally around the flag. I don't have more than anecdotal evidence, but secession as such is not all that popular with RS voters. What's really popular is a) closer ties to Serbia and b) sticking it to the Muslims.

Why now? It's hard to see the developments within Bosnia as the only cause. There's the North Kosovo troubles, and more importantly, the general state of what used to be called the "international community".

What is going to happen next? Who knows.
What is not going to happen is a unilateral declaration of independence. Banja Luka, Belgrade, and Moscow seem to be convinced that this is indeed the West's red line, and even in the absence of an intervention, there would be no return to Dayton terms afterwards. They may well recalculate when there is another Trump (or Trumpish) administration in the US.

All other bets are off. There has been speculation that the (so far) mellow response is in fact a trap to Dodik - who would be removed by a coordinated international action after crossing one of the red lines - but that's playing with fire. It's not as if anyone wanted the war back in 1991.