The Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Denis Bećirović, held a meeting today with the director, Emir Suljagić, and the management of the Basic Trade Union Organization of the Srebrenica Memorial Center.
The reason for the meeting is the treatment of the institutions of the BiH entity Republika Srpska towards current and former employees and associates of the Srebrenica Memorial Center.
Bećirović once again provided full support to the director, employees and associates of the Srebrenica Memorial Center and emphasized that the pressures on them are unacceptable and must be taken seriously.
“When someone intimidates researchers, employees and associates of an institution that documents the genocide, it does not only put pressure on individuals. It sends a message that it is problematic to talk about the facts, investigate the genocide against Bosniaks and preserve the memory of the victims. Such practice is unacceptable in a democratic society and incompatible with the principles of the rule of law. Our message, therefore, must be clear: no amount of pressure on former and current employees and researchers of the Srebrenica Memorial Center will change the truth about the genocide. It cannot be changed what has been proven before the highest international judicial institutions cannot be changed either by the survivors, the families of the victims, the thousands of remains that have been found and identified, and the documentation that remains for future generations,” said Bećirović.
The Director and representatives of the Basic Trade Union Organization of the Srebrenica Memorial Center informed Chairman Bećirović about new details regarding the treatment of RS institutions towards persons who were currently or at different times engaged in the work of the Memorial Center.
The Chairman of the BiH Presidency said that it is necessary to implement the Law on the Srebrenica Memorial Center from 2023.
He pointed out that this process must be accompanied by adequate organizational and financial support. Therefore, it is important to ensure the conditions for the full implementation of the Law, to enable the functioning of the departments provided for by the law, to ensure the necessary professional and administrative capacities, as well as the funds necessary to carry out the extended mandate of the Srebrenica Memorial Center.
