Bećirević: Stern is openly fascinated by Karadžić as a war criminal

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Parts of the book by American author Jessica Stern about war criminal Radovan Karadžić, which describe the war events in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the nineties, quite reflect Serbian nationalist rhetoric, believes Edina Bećirević, a professor at the Faculty of Criminal Justice Sciences at the University of Sarajevo.

Bećirević, who studies genocide, reveals in an article for the reputable online media 'The Intercept' that Stern consulted her during the writing of the book.

"Stern contacted me during the writing process to get comments and feedback. I read an earlier version of her work, and she mentioned me in the acknowledgments. Unfortunately, she ignored most of my suggestions and even misinterpreted my research," Bećirević emphasizes, as reported by N1.

She further explains that the American researcher supported the argument made by Karadžić, according to which Serbs committed genocide "due to the fear that Bosnian Muslims were planning to impose an Islamic state."

"The way my work is referenced in the context of this claim is misleading," the professor points out.

Bećirević adds that the American author cited her book 'Genocide on the Drina', using it to confirm Karadžić's claims that the first president of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, was allegedly frustrated by the fact that most Muslims in the country were secularly oriented.

"While my book explains the secularism of Bosnian Muslims, there is no part that says Izetbegović was frustrated by it; my work is dedicated to deconstructing the genocide committed by Serbs against Bosnian Muslims," writes Bećirević.

However, she continues, Stern is at least honest when talking about the subjectivity of her approach and does not try to mislead readers on this issue.

"She is openly fascinated by Karadžić because he is a war criminal, and any reasonable reader – even if they are not informed about the genocide in BiH and undertake the unpleasant task of reading about it for the first time – will probably not miss that this is her personal, not objective, stance," Bećirević points out.

Stern repeats various untruths spread by Karadžić himself and other genocide deniers, and her approach is similar to that of authors like Peter Handke, who have "persistently worked to deny or diminish the genocide committed by Serbs against Muslims in Bosnia."