Remembering Srebrenica UK has announced their 2022 theme, ‘Combatting Denial: Challenging Hatred’ which they say has two vital objectives.
“This year’s twin-aimed theme seeks to shine a light on the importance of combatting denial and the need to confront the hatred behind the denial,” they stated on their website.
Despite the murders committed at Srebrenica being given a genocide classification by the International Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice, denial continues to be rampant from the top down.
“Denial of the Srebrenica genocide as well as the crimes against humanity committed across Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 to 1995 remains prevalent amongst individuals and institutions at the highest levels, including the Mayor of Srebrenica, the current political leadership of Republika Srpska and Serbia as well as Russia which vetoed a UN resolution in 2015 to condemn the killings at Srebrenica as a genocide,” Rembering Srebrenica stated.
Last year in July after the former High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko introduced a law banning genocide denial and mass murder glorification, the parliament of Republika Srpska rejected the ban and subsequently passed a law where anyone calling the RS “genocidal” could face lengthy prison time.
According to Remembering Srebrenica, social media also plays a dangerous role in perpetuating denial and hatred.
“In an age of social media where many more people now receive their information in snippets from unverified sources online, we have seen the proliferation of fake news making it difficult to distinguish between truth and myths.
“Divisive propaganda and misinformation is thriving, and clear and established facts are denied and manipulated with minority communities often scapegoated and vilified to create mistrust and promote hatred that threatens community cohesion,” they wrote.
The UK charity added that denial is a harmful barrier to reconciliation.
“Denial brings not only more pain and suffering for the survivors but serves as a rallying call to continue the division and hatred as well as to glorify the murderers.
“Denial also serves as a significant impediment to peace and reconciliation which can never be achieved without acknowledgement,” they said.
Their 2022 theme hopes to inspire community members around the world to take an active part in combatting denial.
“This year’s theme will encourage people to recognise the important role that they can play in combating denial to help build safer, stronger communities.
“We therefore hope that the theme will help empower individuals and communities to better understand and confront the denial which emboldens perpetrators and gaslights their victims, in order to help create safer, stronger and more cohesive communities,” Remembering Srebrenica wrote.
Written by Miya Yamanouchi for the Sarajevo Times
