THE AGGRESSION AND GENOCIDE IN BOSNIA WAS DEFINITELY NOT A PROUD CHAPTER OF OUR HISTORY

The joint response of the Bosniak – Canadian Community to what is considered to be the insane rhetoric of former general, Lewis MacKenzie

Helping in the 'fight for history,'By Robert Sibley, The Ottawa Citizen, March 31, 2010

April 03, 2010

Letter to the Editor of Ottawa Citizen:

The aggression and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina was definitely not a proud chapter of our history.

 

Specifically, the democracies of the world, largely sat, watched and did very little to defend our common humanity that was under threat in all cities and towns throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. To further distort factual records and blame the victims, deepens our shame and merely disregards and makes little of everything that was lost in Bosnia and Herzegovina – most importantly the lives of all humans who perished in such barbaric ways.

 

Retired General MacKenzie distorted the truth then - and he continues to repeat it today, without any sense of shame. This is just a small part of what he did / does best.

Retired General MacKenzie is known to have peddled his partisan, pro-Serbian views under the cloak of ‘objective and informed expert opinions’. Ever since the summer of 1992, when he virtually coerced the then French President Mitterrand, into meeting with Radovan Karadzic at Sarajevo’s airport, it was obvious where his sympathies lay.

At that time, there were rumors and allegations, circulating widely in many circles, about his misconduct in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but proof of the same was never published. Shortly thereafter, he was surprisingly and quickly retired from the Canadian military, but hailed as ‘a Canadian hero’ in the Maclean's magazine - appearing as ‘an expert witness’ at the United States congressional hearings.

Retired General MacKenzie forgot the context of the aggression of the Bosnian-Serbian army over the essentially defenseless Muslim population.  The Tribunal in The Hague quite rightly condemned the massacres of civilians and unarmed people, as genocide. 

MacKenzie questions the number of Bosnian Muslims killed in the Srebrenica genocide, even after a commission of the government of Republika Srpska officially acknowledged that between 7 and 8 thousand [note: actual number is more than 8000] men and boys were murdered in just a few days following the fall of Srebrenica – after which, the Republika Srpska police started arresting perpetrators. 

The now retired MacKenzie does this even after the United Nations, International War Crimes Tribunal, the United States, Great Britain, Canada and other countries, acknowledged this catastrophe and rightly called it genocide. The world now knows very well what really happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who the actual aggressors were as well as who the victims were. But the retired General still sings his same, preferred, song!

In single / individual sentences, his statements overflow with detestation of the Bosniak people, Bosnia and Herzegovina -  and in fact – everything that is not Serbian. Every time he opens his mouth he displays a total disregard for the most fundamental principles of democracy (and the culture of peace) which were directives of the European Union in 1991 and 1992, in all of former Yugoslavia, when four out of six republics voted to separate from Serbia and Montenegro.

Canada’s taxpayers funded MacKenzie’s trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 – so why is it only today, that we learn from him that he went to Bosnia and Herzegovina with a pro-Serbian bias, as referenced in his own words in your article? Was he not supposed to be impartial as a person with senior responsibility for the UN presence there?

There are some 50,000 Bosniaks in Canada, on whose behalf we speak, and most of whom would not be here if it were not for the military aggression and its resultant genocide by Serbia against civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina. MacKenzie knows that. He was at the centre of that aggression and genocide yet professes to have seen nothing of it. This is a typical attitude of inconsiderate people!!

 

This response has been formulated on behalf of the Canadian Bosniak Community.  It is supported by:

The Congress of North American Bosniaks, Branch of Canada;

The Institute for the Research of Genocide Canada;

The Islamic Congress of Canada;

The Islamic Association of Bosniaks – Canada; and

Prominent Canadian Experts;

 Friends of Bosnia and Herzegovina and

Individual Bosniaks.

 

With respect,

 

Professor Emir Ramic

President of the Congress of North American Bosniaks – Canadian Branch &

President of the Institute for the Research of Genocide - Canada,