Faculty for Montenegrin Language and Literature: Never Again Srebrenica, Sanction Every Form of Genocide Denial!

(Patria) - On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, marked on July 11, in support of the families of the victims, and in opposition to the policies and narratives that in the regional public and political discourse affirm the denial of genocide, the Faculty for Montenegrin Language and Literature, headquartered in Cetinje, issued a press release.

"The Faculty for Montenegrin Language and Literature (FCJK) expresses its deepest reverence for the more than 8,000 innocent Bosniaks - men and boys - who were killed in July 1995 by members of the Army of Republika Srpska, solely because they were Bosniaks and solely because they were Muslims."

As they emphasize, this crime, which the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ruled as genocide, remains a permanent warning to humanity and an indelible wound on the conscience of Europe and the United Nations.

"The genocide in Srebrenica is a direct consequence of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina and decades-long, almost century-old propaganda of hatred towards the Other and the Different," they stress from FCJK.

However, as they point out, despite the genocide, destruction, systematic rapes, bloody campaigns in Posavina and along the Drina, and a fight to the death, Bosnia and Herzegovina survived thanks to the heroism of the fighters of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who defended their people and the right to live in peace and freedom under nearly impossible conditions.

"Their resistance represents a beacon of courage and faith in justice and is an eternal monument to the victims of Srebrenica," they state in the release.

It is important, they emphasize, that Montenegro, then directed from Belgrade, did not institutionally participate in the planning or execution of the genocide in Srebrenica, a fact repeatedly highlighted by the director of the Potočari Memorial Center, Dr. Emir Suljagić.

"Nevertheless, our state must not turn a blind eye to historical responsibility - volunteers from Montenegro fought on the side of the aggressor throughout the aggression against BiH: some were part of Arkan's units, and some served in the notorious Special Operations Unit of the Ministry of Interior of Serbia and the Army of Republika Srpska," they note.

As they add, attacks on Mostar, Sarajevo, crimes in Sarajevo's Grbavica, Kladuša, Bijeljina, Foča, and other parts of BiH in which Montenegrin citizens participated remain a dark stain that must be clearly named, scientifically investigated, and publicly condemned.

"FCJK will always remember the victims of Srebrenica, upholding the culture of remembrance as the foundation of a democratic and just society. We remain uncompromisingly committed to the fight against all great-state and genocidal ideologies that brought suffering in the past and today threaten to disrupt our regional, hard-won peace."

Finally, they state - denial of the genocide in Srebrenica represents not only a moral decline but also a criminal offense that must be punishable in every democratic state.

"We call on the competent institutions of Montenegro to effectively sanction, through legislative and educational policies, every form of negation and relativization of crimes and genocide, as well as the glorification of war criminals such as the Balkan monsters Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić," they emphasize in the statement.

As they point out, it is their academic and social duty, through teaching and scientific research, to demystify propaganda, affirm a culture of peace and genuine reconciliation, and empower young generations to recognize all forms of hatred and oppose them.

"The victims of Srebrenica, who perished in the silence of the world, oblige us to never forget and to
dignifiedly build a future in which there will be no room for new genocides. Only through truth, justice, and education can we prevent the repetition of crimes. Never again Srebrenica," conclude from the Cetinje Faculty for Montenegrin Language and Literature.