Resolution is an additional confirmation of the truth about genocide, we must not fall into the trap of counting votes

Interview by: Rasim Belko

The Director of the Institute for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law at the University of Sarajevo, Muamer Džananović, in an interview with the Patria News Agency, commented on the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica adopted yesterday.

Džananović believes that the adoption of the Resolution is an additional confirmation of the truth about the genocide against Bosniaks, which has been established, among other things, in the judgments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Its adoption, Džananović points out, is important for several reasons, primarily for the victims and the truth about the genocide.

- Regardless of the great efforts and investments of deniers to deny the genocide even on an international level, they have not and will never succeed. The adoption of the Resolution is also important for those who have dedicated their lives to the fight for the truth about the aggression, genocide, and crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s.

We must be aware that we live in a world where crimes are committed and basic human rights are violated on a continuous basis. The world is currently watching the killing of children and civilians in Gaza and other parts of the world.

We live in a time when many countries look at their own interests in such matters. Taking all this into account, we must by no means fall into the trap of counting votes when it comes to the vote on the Resolution. We must especially not equate those who abstained with those who voted against the adoption of the Resolution.

Most of those who abstained acknowledge the genocide and are not on the path of Serbia and some countries that deny the genocide. I am sure that most of the abstaining countries will respect the Resolution and will commemorate and remember the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica in their countries every July 11 - says Džananović.

Unfortunately, he adds, today's Serbia and the smaller Bosnian-Herzegovinian entity are led by structures that have been denying genocide through institutions for decades, glorifying criminals, protecting convicted and suspected war criminals, and investing heavily in various denial projects.

Džananović emphasizes that the ideological background and Greater-Serbian goals, from which Serbia with these political leaders will never give up, must not be neglected or forgotten.

- The narrative they have created and the reasons for fighting against the adoption of the Resolution are a strategy characteristic of the Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić. He is the one who, along with Dodik, coordinates and creates the regional political environment and social tension, radicalizing the Serbian population.

Now Vučić is trying to show, by counting votes on the Resolution, that he is the winner and that he has protected the Serbian people. He wanted that after his public statements and efforts in previous months to oppose the adoption of the Resolution, he could, after yesterday's vote, regardless of the outcome, present himself through his media as someone who made a great effort for Serbia and the Serbian people and that he succeeded in it - points out Džananović.

Ultimately, our interlocutor continues, we must be aware that this Resolution will not significantly change the situation at the local and regional level. Life goes on, and the enemies of Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue where they left off. They will not truly respect the victims, they will deny the genocide, and they will not respect the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- For us who love this country and who respect the victims of genocide, it remains for each of us to do our best in our own domain, and in the context of the Resolution, we will never forget the victims of genocide, and the adoption of the Resolution is an additional motivation for further dedicated and sincere work in the field of scientific research of war crimes and their adequate remembrance - concluded Džananović in an interview with NAP.