The case of two female students who studied in Sarajevo and glorified the genocide and the war criminal Ratko Mladić on July 11 gained regional attention. First, because of the heinous act of genocide denial, and then because of the fact that the entity Republika Srpska and the state of Serbia rewarded them for it.
No matter how much energy someone invests in order to protect historical truth and facts, when the institutions of a country reward evil, it is very difficult to fight with it.
Two years ago, the former high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, amended the Criminal Code in the part that refers to the ban on denying genocide and glorifying war criminals.
Statistically, genocide may be denied less, but the law has not yet shown its strength. It is not because the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, which is supposed to implement it, pretends to be powerless and says that it is difficult to process the denial of genocide if no direct damage resulted from that denial.
So to this day, despite the visible denial of genocide, we have not seen a single case of someone being punished for glorifying war crimes, and especially for denying genocide. In other words, the law is still very much a passive letter on paper.
But when the President of the RS Milorad Dodik or someone else denies the genocide, it is difficult to find direct damage, especially material damage, according to the automatic system. However, what is much more dangerous is what results from this denial, which is the upbringing of entire generations on the story that there was no genocide and that war criminals Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić are heroes.
And if behind those claims stands the first man of RS politics for 15 or more years, the same number of generations grew up on the story and narrative of genocide denial. That’s why it’s not surprising the attitude of students Valentina Vujičić and Slađana Todić, who were encouraged by the policy of denying the genocide as adults on July 11.
And instead of criticizing such moves, the special ties between the RS and Serbia appeared on the scene.
Politics very skilfully used the denial of genocide to further deepen hatred. The director of the Security Service of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, offered a scholarship to the mentioned students to continue their education in Belgrade, and the director of the company Sarajevo-gas from East Sarajevo, Nedeljko Elek, offered them financing for their stay in Serbia.
Female students who studied in Sarajevo and denied the genocide, while glorifying Ratko Mladić, accepted the offer with open arms and are currently enjoying their 5 minutes of fame based on cultivating hatred.
Although there are many students throughout Serbia, as well as the entities of the RS, who will never have the opportunity to receive such a scholarship, the special ties between the RS and Serbia have literally rewarded evil, hatred and national intolerance. They sent the message that it is preferable to deny genocide and glorify war criminals because some politics will use it as fuel, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
