In an interview with Banja Luka’s Alternative Television, Milorad Dodik, the president of the SNSD, praised convicted war criminals Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić, calling them heroes. While such statements are reportedly continuing and becoming more frequent, the reaction of the competent judicial institutions is still lacking.
Dodik’s continued rhetoric
In Milorad Dodik’s rhetoric, when it comes to the Hague convicts, nothing changes. It is an act that insults the victims and defies the state judiciary.
“Mladić is the Supreme Commander of the RS Army, a national hero of this people. Whether they understand it or not, that is how it is. You can no longer have that narrative. The more they defend Mladić and Karadžić, the bigger icons they will be. What you experience about Mladić and Karadžić in Sarajevo, I am not interested in. What you said through Inzko, ‘you are not allowed to say anything’, that is what I am saying,” said Dodik, the president of the SNSD.
Lack of institutional reactions
And he speaks, perhaps encouraged by the silence of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH. Let’s remember the insults to Bosniaks in a speech in East Sarajevo, through the denial of genocide, to the glorification and abolition of its perpetrators.
“The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has absolutely no strength to respond to the denial and glorification of war criminals by Milorad Dodik. And it is very clear that this is for political reasons,” said Denis Džidić, Editor-in-Chief of BIRN Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Legal and institutional problems
Experts warn that, in addition to political influence, there is also the problem of the lack of institutional capacity.
“On the one hand, there is political influence, but on the other hand, there is the inability for Bosnia and Herzegovina to deal with this with its own capacities. The consequences are great,” said Nedim Ademović, a lawyer.
Murat Tahirović, president of the Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide, emphasizes that the law was passed precisely in order to sanction persons who glorify war criminals.
“The law was passed with the purpose of punishing people like Milorad Dodik and others who hold certain positions, who pose a threat and who can jeopardize peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Tahirović said.
Victims’ appeals and verdicts
For months, the Mothers of Srebrenica have been appealing to the Chief State Prosecutor Milanko Kajganić, and two days ago they also conveyed a clear message to the Chief Prosecutor of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, Serge Brammertz, regarding the possible release of Mladić for treatment.
“For genocide, for crimes, for everything he did, he must be there for life. That’s where he belongs,” said Munira Subasic, president of the Movement of Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Žepa.
Poor implementation of the law
The law banning the glorification of people like Mladić and Karadžić has been in force for five years, but the results of prosecuting those who violate it are not satisfactory. Only one person has been sentenced with a final verdict.
“How many times have the victims asked where these critical points are. There are always some explanations related to organizational problems, and the question is who solves them,” said Vlado Adamović, a lawyer.
Ademović adds that the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina should have established clear norms and standards for these crimes long ago.
“They haven’t done so, and that’s part of the problem. Another part of the problem is that there is no strong and determined stance to oppose this phenomenon. Institutions are under political pressure and when all these elements are mixed, we get the situation we have now,” Ademović said.
Previous verdicts
At the beginning of the year, the Court of BiH sentenced Miodrag Malić to three years in prison for glorifying persons convicted of war crimes, while only Vojin Pavlović was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for glorifying Mladić and justifying genocide.
