RULING THAT CHANGES RELATIONS Ramić for Patria: Sue Serbia and seek international partners to abolish Dayton and Republika Srpska

(Patria) - The Institute for Research of Genocide Canada (IGK) is satisfied with the final verdict of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts in The Hague, by which former heads of the State Security Service (SDB) of Serbia, Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović, were sentenced to 15 years in prison each.

Furthermore, Stanišić and Simatović were found guilty of participating in a joint criminal enterprise (JCE) and for crimes committed in Bijeljina, Zvornik, Doboj, Trnovo, Bosanski Šamac, and Sanski Most.

Double Aggression

In an interview with the Patria News Agency, IGK Director Emir Ramić stated that today's verdict finally establishes the character of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- Now, Serbia's JCE has been convicted, and we previously had a verdict for the JCE of the Republic of Croatia. Therefore, in our opinion, this constitutes a double aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The verdict opens up a series of possibilities that our Institute has been working on for years. One of these possibilities is a lawsuit against the Republic of Serbia, as well as against Republika Srpska - said Ramić.

Ramić added that the IGK will first undertake activities to expedite the process of obtaining an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice through the UN General Assembly on the question: "Can the entity of RS exist after today's verdict?".

- We have been working on this for two years. We know that due to the existing Dayton structure, Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot do this. However, according to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, a sponsoring state can also do it.

We are actively working to secure a sponsoring state. It could be Canada or another country, or even multiple countries. In any case, this verdict now opens broad possibilities for its realization - Ramić emphasized.

He expects the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice to be positive, and that it could represent a significant link towards re-initiating a lawsuit against Serbia for JCE, or rather, aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Related text: Stanišić and Simatović convicted for JCE, received 15 years in prison each

Ramić believes that the verdict against Stanišić and Simatović represents one of the most important moments in Bosnia and Herzegovina's culture of remembrance, and that its implementation can be a step towards truth and justice prevailing, not in the name of hatred, but in the name of a better common future in the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Our interlocutor assesses that this verdict opens up the possibility for the international community to finally understand the character of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina more concretely and effectively, a character that has been contested not only by political entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also within the international community itself, primarily due to "unbelievable anti-Bosnian lobbying activities from the entity of RS, as well as from Serbia".

Critical Mass Needed

- Today's verdict opens the possibility of challenging not only the entity of RS but also the Dayton Peace Agreement. This is no longer about a so-called civil war or a so-called unfortunate conflict - to define it correctly, as defined by the Dayton Peace Agreement. This is now about aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which opens up the possibility of changing the Dayton Agreement, i.e., creating a different social and state structure and functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina - states Ramić.

He emphasizes that in this regard, we need a critical mass of actors in the international community who will understand what actually happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and today's verdict precisely enables that.

- Our Institute never relies on the political establishment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially not on one that denies the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our experience shows that active lobbying for truth and justice yields results.

We now have a situation where resolutions of the Canadian Parliament are no longer solely related to the genocide in Srebrenica. The Canadian Parliament will very soon adopt a resolution declaring May 31st as the World White Ribbons Day in Canada.

Therefore, we already have one country absolutely on our side, a country that is a member of the seven most developed countries in the world. We need to utilize this. The political establishment, primarily the Bosniak one, must recognize this and use it more effectively, come to Canada or invite the Canadian Prime Minister to Sarajevo, to establish Canada as one of the countries that could be the basis for realizing what is most important in my opinion, which is the change of the Dayton structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Ramić underlined.

However, he added, the United States remains a problem, given that the voice of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Washington has been absent for a long time.

- Let's hope that the new ambassador, Mr. Sven Alkalaj, will make more efforts. I am not sure how much he can do alone; his capabilities are great, but what we need to continue working on - just as we now have Canada on our side, we also need the United States and several other European countries, so that we can proceed with the procedure of changing the Dayton Agreement.

Regardless of the denial from Serbia, and even Croatia, not only of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina but also of what happened from 1992 to 1995 - thus denying the aggression, I personally believe that if we had several important countries in the world on our side, a change of the Dayton structure or the convening of an international conference to amend the Dayton Peace Agreement could happen very quickly.

This verdict is very important for this reason as well, because it finally opens the eyes of the international community, which had kept them firmly shut to everything that happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially from the perspective of our eastern neighbor.

Therefore, it is definitely no longer a civil war, it is not an unfortunate conflict, it is aggression. The international community must respond to this issue. According to today's verdict, the entity of RS cannot exist because it is definitively based on the results of aggression and a joint criminal enterprise - Ramić concluded in his interview with Patria.

(R. Belko)