On the occasion of the decision of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) entity of the Republika Srpska (RS) to introduce teaching content that glorifies war criminals into the curricula of primary schools in the RS, the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Denis Becirovic, made a statement.
Becirovic strongly condemned the “anti-civilization and anti-Dayton activities of the Ministry of Education and Culture of BiH entity of the RS, which introduced contents that glorify war criminals into the curricula of primary schools of this entity”.
The Chairman of the BiH Presidency called on the High Representative in BiH, Christian Schmidt, to make a decision on the dismissal of Minister Zeljka Stojicic without delay, in accordance with his powers, as well as to issue an order banning the use of new teaching programs in the 2024/2025 school year.
“The High Representative must act concretely and in principle on the entire state territory of BiH. It is his duty to prevent the Dayton Peace Agreement from being undermined and the glorification of war criminals.
The European Union (EU) must decisively and clearly show that there is no place in Europe for the glorification of brutal war criminals. The absence of a clear, concrete and decisive reaction from the EU could have negative consequences, not only for BiH, but also for the entire European continent,” said Becirovic.
Contrary to the fundamental provisions of the Dayton Peace Agreement, school programs in the RS have further discredited the teaching process, introducing into it a dangerous narrative that war criminals Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic are heroes. In this way, the Dayton Peace Agreement, the Constitution and laws of BiH are violated, he added.
“Mladic and Karadzic are not heroes. They are convicted war criminals, found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and other crimes. By teaching children that Mladic and Karadzicare heroes, the educational system in the BiH entity of RS glorifies criminals and criminal politics in a targeted manner”, it was stated in the press release by the Chairman of the BiH Presidency.
