Intervju sa Miya Yamanouchi Journalist for the Sarajevo Times
The systematic murder of over 8,000 Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) in Srebrenica by Serb forces in July 1995 was ruled as an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice. Theodor Meron, the presiding judge at the ICTY, stated in 2004 that "by seeking to eliminate a part of the Bosnian Muslims, the Bosnian Serb forces committed a genocide." "They targeted for extinction of the 40,000 Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica, a group which was emblematic of Bosnian Muslims in general," he said.
The chief prosecutor at the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) Serge Brammertz told the UN Security Council that glorification of war criminals and denial of war crimes in former Yugoslavia continues.. He added that judicial cooperation in war crimes cases between the countries in the region is at its lowest level in years.
Positive steps are undermined by irresponsible comments from other officials denying what has been established beyond reasonable doubt by the international courts, and portraying as heroes men who committed the most serious violations of international law. The genocide denial was limited to specific Serbian academic circles and lesser-known political parties. Now, it's more mainstream. It has also become mainstream] among certain leftist circles in the West which is consistent with their support for ex-Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic.
The act of removing the content and apologising for “hurt” caused, correlates to genocide denialism. Australia would make a major contribution in the fight against genocide denial worldwide. Denying the genocide in Srebrenica is very dangerous. We need to learn from history, recognise what happened in Srebrenica] and call it by its real name. Human rights are under attack worldwide," Ramic added. "Bosniaks, as the only people in Europe who survived aggression and genocide [since the Holocaust], are exposed to unacceptable discrimination not just in the motherland, but in the diaspora as well."The aggression and genocide in Bosnia have shown that there aren't adequate mechanisms in place to protect freedom and human rights.
It's very hurtful for the victims and families of the survivors to continue to wrestle with something based on facts, so the act of removing the content and apologising for “hurt” caused, correlates to genocide denialism will help inpreventing denial and create awareness that we will never forget.