Lendo: It is a civilizational obligation to adopt the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica

(Patria) - Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens are part of the European family of democratic, human, and generally accepted values that are incorporated into the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

I am convinced that only and exclusively on these values can and must we build our future, but a prerequisite is confronting the past, acknowledging that genocide was planned and carried out in Srebrenica, and learning from the judgments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, stated the Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Refik Lendo.

"Yesterday, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted a report that, contrary to all the above-mentioned values, denies the genocide in Srebrenica. All those who participated in the drafting and publication of this report have inscribed themselves among the bearers of anti-civilizational values.

On one side are those who rely on legal facts with the force of court judgments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and on the other side are those who deny the judgments, who grossly minimize and deny the planned and executed genocide in Srebrenica, and who glorify convicted war criminals.

Another important step in affirming the culture of remembrance of the genocide in Srebrenica and the fight against denial and gross minimization of genocide is the adoption of the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica. The moral and civilizational goals of the Resolution are the dignified preservation of the memory of the victims of genocide. It is important that we gather and support the efforts to adopt the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica.

The adopted Election Law of Republika Srpska is clearly contrary to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina in its content. Its goal is the unlawful change of distributed competencies between the state and administrative units, the suspension of the constitutional and legal order, and the creation of a situation in which the state is attempted to be prevented from organizing and conducting fair, free, and democratic elections. This and similar laws ultimately have devastating consequences for legal certainty, the rule of law, and the integrity of the electoral process," stated Lendo.