Denial of genocide as a secret memorandum: Serbian politics needs an international mentor to achieve catharsis!

By: Rasim Belko @rasimbelko

Political aggression of Serbian politics as an introduction to violence, crimes, and genocide

Political aggression from Serbia and Bosnian Serbs towards Bosniaks was clear and continuous. Political leaders of Serbia and Bosnian Serbs, with the support of the JNA, aggressively worked to create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity for Bosniaks. Nationalist rhetoric, hate speech, and media manipulation were just the beginning. Political leaders spread the ideology of ethnic supremacy and hatred, which laid the foundation for the upcoming violence.

From individual murders, destruction of religious buildings to mass crimes

After political aggression, physical aggression followed. First, individual murders and violence began. Bosniaks were targets of brutal attacks, and many disappeared without a trace. However, soon these individual murders escalated into mass killings. Massacres in Zvornik, Bijeljina, Sarajevo, Prijedor, Foča, and many other places left an indelible mark. Thousands of men and boys were brutally killed, while women, children, and the elderly were expelled from their homes.

Parallel to physical violence, Serbian forces systematically destroyed religious buildings and houses of Bosniaks. Mosques, masjids, and other religious buildings were razed to the ground. These attacks were not accidental; they were part of a broader strategy to erase the cultural and religious identity of Bosniaks. The destruction of houses and infrastructure aimed to prevent return. That is, it was intended to ensure that one day, when the aggression ended, the projected space of the Serbian world would be absolutely ethnically clean. Not only of non-Serb population but also of all potential evidence that would clearly indicate that Bosniaks, Croats, and others had lived in that area.

Camps

One of the most brutal aspects of Serbian aggression was the camps. Thousands of Bosniaks were imprisoned in concentration camps such as Omarska, Keraterm, Trnopolje, and many others. In these camps, prisoners were subjected to inhumane conditions, torture, rape, and brutal beatings. Living pyres, burnings, and other torture were daily occurrences. The camps were an instrument of abuse and persecution, aimed at ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Genocide as the ultimate result of aggressive Serbian politics

Mass war crimes committed by the Army of Republika Srpska, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska, but also forces from Serbia, with armaments from Serbia, were part of the entire political and war campaign of Belgrade and Bosnian Serbs. And all this after Žepa and Srebrenica, through demilitarization, became protected UN zones from which there was no longer an armed threat to the Army of Republika Srpska. However, the genocide in Srebrenica, if we look at the brutality and massiveness of the crimes, had preludes in Foča, Prijedor, Zvornik. More precisely, wherever the Army of Republika Srpska and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska entered among civilians and unarmed Bosniaks. This is proof of the absolute intention to wipe Bosniaks and other non-Serb populations off the face of the earth. The perversion of minds in the military and civilian organization of Republika Srpska shows how strong the political propaganda of Belgrade and Bosnian Serbs actually was, both before and during the aggression. There are not a few accomplices in the genocide who, years later, showed remorse, stating that they were carried away by the whole situation, i.e., that Greater Serbian propaganda. From 2025, the world will commemorate and honor the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica. However, besides commemoration, the key is the political agenda that must stop the propaganda of Belgrade and Belgrade Serbs, which is present today and is an almost complete copy of the one from the early '90s.

Denial of genocide as a means of propaganda and a socially dangerous deviation

Today, when many would expect Bosnia and Herzegovina to live a normal order and build a system of European values, and after the bloody lessons of the '90s, many Serbian politicians (from both sides of the Drina) deny the genocide that occurred against Bosniaks.

This denial is dangerous because it perpetuates a culture of impunity and can serve as a basis for future crimes. Denial of genocide is a socially dangerous deviation. Identical to the deviations we witnessed a few years before the breakup of Yugoslavia, i.e., the beginning of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Therefore, the denial of genocide requires a serious reaction from the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as a decisive response from the international community. If Western civilization does not recognize this danger and does not take concrete steps, it is difficult to accept that it is a true civilization. Especially at a time when we witness Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the genocide that Israel is carrying out against Palestinians. Western civilization, if it still wants to see in the mirror of its success the values it defined in key documents, has an obligation to recognize the danger in the denial of genocide, as well as policies that follow the same agenda as those in the pre-war period. And to neutralize such phenomena with the mechanisms it has.

Serbian politics needs mentorship to achieve catharsis

The genocide against Bosniaks was a horrific crime that the human mind can hardly comprehend. The international community, especially Western civilization, must recognize the danger of genocide denial and work on preventing such crimes in the future. However, it is not enough to just condemn past crimes. Today's politics in Serbia and the politics of Bosnian Serbs need mentoring instruction from the civilized world. Because, the post-war decades have shown that this politics cannot find the inner strength to achieve catharsis.

And politics in Serbia and the Republika Srpska entity vitally need catharsis – confronting the past and accepting responsibility for the committed crimes and genocide. Through education and mentoring work, the international community can help leaders aware of the burden of the past come to the political scene. These leaders must be committed to leading politics and the people towards the values of the civilized world through the truth about that burden.

Only through joint efforts, sincere self-reflection, and commitment to truth can it be ensured that similar crimes are never repeated. The international community must recognize its role in this process and act decisively as a mentor, because everything we witness today proves that the international community's approach so far has been wrong!