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Top international official in Bosnia bans denial of genocide
Source: Associated Press
Top international official in Bosnia bans denial of genocide
July 23, 2021
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The top international official in Bosnia on Friday outlawed denial of genocide in the Balkan country to counter attempts by Bosnia’s Serbs to deny the scope of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, Europe’s only post-World War II genocide.
The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court for Former Yugoslavia declared the Bosnian Serb killings of more than 8,000 Bosniaks that took place in Srebrenica during the Bosnian War as genocide. But Bosnian Serb officials and neighboring Serbia have refused to accept the designation.
Valentin Inzko, the outgoing head of Bosnia’s Office of the High Representative, or OHR, imposed changes Friday to the country’s criminal code, introducing prison sentences of up to five years for genocide denial and for the glorification of war criminals, including naming of streets or public institutions after them.
“Hate speech, the glorification of war criminals and revisionism or outright denial of genocide and war crimes prevent societies from dealing with their collective past, constitute renewed humiliation of the victims and their loved ones, while also perpetuating injustice and undermining interethnic relationships,” Inzko, an Austrian diplomat, said in a statement. “All of this causes frustrations, makes the society chronically ill, and prevents the emergence of desperately needed reconciliation.”
As the top international body overseeing implementation of the peace agreement that ended Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, the OHR has the authority to impose decisions or dismiss officials who undermine the post-war ethnic balance and reconciliation efforts among the Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim, Bosnia’s Serbs and Croats.
-snip-
July 23, 2021
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The top international official in Bosnia on Friday outlawed denial of genocide in the Balkan country to counter attempts by Bosnia’s Serbs to deny the scope of the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, Europe’s only post-World War II genocide.
The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court for Former Yugoslavia declared the Bosnian Serb killings of more than 8,000 Bosniaks that took place in Srebrenica during the Bosnian War as genocide. But Bosnian Serb officials and neighboring Serbia have refused to accept the designation.
Valentin Inzko, the outgoing head of Bosnia’s Office of the High Representative, or OHR, imposed changes Friday to the country’s criminal code, introducing prison sentences of up to five years for genocide denial and for the glorification of war criminals, including naming of streets or public institutions after them.
“Hate speech, the glorification of war criminals and revisionism or outright denial of genocide and war crimes prevent societies from dealing with their collective past, constitute renewed humiliation of the victims and their loved ones, while also perpetuating injustice and undermining interethnic relationships,” Inzko, an Austrian diplomat, said in a statement. “All of this causes frustrations, makes the society chronically ill, and prevents the emergence of desperately needed reconciliation.”
As the top international body overseeing implementation of the peace agreement that ended Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, the OHR has the authority to impose decisions or dismiss officials who undermine the post-war ethnic balance and reconciliation efforts among the Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim, Bosnia’s Serbs and Croats.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/europe-government-and-politics-genocides-6821e5d3a71bf86db830fda1e81a6123
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Related: UN council rejects Russian bid to get rid of Bosnia high rep (Associated Press)