The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović, reacted today to the latest attacks and baseless statements of the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in Europe where genocide was committed after World War II. This was ruled by the highest courts of the United Nations (UN). The Republic of Serbia is the only country in the world that was ruled by the UN’s highest court to have violated the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted on December 9, 1948. These are legal facts that no one can erase. Lessons should be learned from them and the genocide should never be allowed to happen again to anyone,” emphasized Bećirović.
He added that “a person who publicly claimed in the highest legislative body of Serbia that 100 Muslims should be killed for one Serb cannot teach anyone lessons about war-mongering rhetoric.”
“For me, a Bosniak has always been and remains equal to a Serb, Croat, Roma, Jew or any other person. Similar to the 1990s, Aleksandar Vučić and his propagandists reinvent unspoken sentences, spread lies, label, denigrate, accuse, judge… Instead of spoofs and replacing theses, Vučić should have truthfully and concretely stated what bothers him in my speech which I held at the commemoration of the victims of the genocide in Potočari on July 11, 2024. Does it bother him that I said that I respect the Republic of Serbia and its citizens and that I do not put a sign of equality between the regime and the citizens? Or referring to the final judgments of the courts of the United Nations? Does he mind the start of the implementation of the Resolution on the International Day of Remembrance and Commemoration of the Genocide in Srebrenica? Why does the call for peace and equal cooperation between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia bother him? Instead of referring to non-existent parts of my speech, Vučić should face the truth and stop undermining the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Bećirović.
He stated that “the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe and the world know very well what the former minister of information of the infamous Slobodan Milošević and the current president of the Republic of Serbia did and, unfortunately, still does.”
“Vučić’s manipulative strategy and tactics have been exposed, because now everyone is well aware of his propaganda deceptions. Vučić’s big-state goals are clear. After he organized the Great Serbian Parliament in Belgrade on June 8 of this year and voted the Great Serbian Declaration, no one is in any doubt as to what the President of Serbia really does. The implementation of Vučić’s declaration would mean the disappearance of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that is why it must be stopped in the interest of preserving peace. The declaration flagrantly threatens international and national law, as well as the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It represents an undermining of the fundamental principles on which the European Union rests and the basic international principles on which interstate relations of UN members are based,” Bećirović states.
He said that Bosnia and Herzegovina is an internationally recognized independent, sovereign and indivisible state and this is a permanent fact that no one will ever be able to change.
“It would be good for the region if Vučić deals with the internal issues of the country he represents. Unfortunately, without any reason or authorization, contrary to international and national law, it continuously and increasingly aggressively interferes in the internal affairs of the independent, sovereign and indivisible state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The question arises as to what the President of Serbia would do if, for example, one of Serbia’s neighboring states adopted a 49-point declaration with Vojvodina and the content of that declaration did not respect Serbia’s sovereignty. The justification for Vučić cannot be parallel connections, because the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina is clear. The Constitution of BiH, which is an integral part of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stipulates that: “Entities have the right to establish parallel relations with neighboring states, in accordance with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina” (Article III-2 ( a).The entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina is obliged to consistently respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, just like neighboring Serbia,” Bećirović pointed out.
He added that the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia should build good and equal interstate relations.
“The future of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia lies in true mutual appreciation and respect. Everything that Vučić would not want for Serbia, let him not do for Bosnia and Herzegovina either. It’s time for the president of Serbia to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina alone! The region needs peace, development and equal cooperation between states,” said the Chairman of the BiH Presidency, Denis Bećirović, as announced by his cabinet.
