Serbian singer Jelena Karleusa had her performance in Sanski Most canceled because of her recent statements about the genocide in Srebrenica.
Namely, Karleusa was supposed to perform in this Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) town at the end of July; however, the organizers decided to cancel her appearance, since she denied the genocide in Srebrenica on the social media platform X.
“Genocide is the systematic killing of children, the elderly, the young, men, women – all of them, to wipe out a people. Only one nation experienced that in the Balkans. The Serbian, and no other,” wrote Karleusa.
In connection with this, the Camel night club, where the performance was to take place, issued a public statement.
“We hereby inform you that we have made the decision to cancel the concert of Jelena Karleusa. As organizers of an event that promotes unity, respect, and human dignity, we strongly condemn any form of hate speech, insults, and intolerance, regardless of whether it comes from the stage, the media, or social networks,” they stated at the beginning.
They then expressed that there is no place for those who insult, humiliate, and divide people, especially those who do so without regret or apology.
“We state clearly that at our event, there is no place for those who, with their words, insult, humiliate, and divide people, and especially not for those who do so without any remorse or public apology. Jelena Karleusa’s performance was canceled precisely because of her public behavior and statements on the X platform, which we consider unacceptable and deeply offensive. She neither issued an apology nor showed any regret, and we cannot and will not turn a blind eye to that. Thank you to all who stand by the values we defend,” they said.
Shortly after that, Karleusa spoke out about the cancellation of the performance in Sanski Most. She believes that her comments did not offend others and that in this way, she wanted to show that she loves her country. She even mentioned Dino Merlin, who two days ago paid tribute in Potocari to the Bosniaks killed in the genocide.
“They cancel concerts for Serbian singers in BiH if they don’t s**t on Serbia and say we’re genocidal. So, even without offending anyone, you’re not allowed to love your country, Serbia? Should Serbia now cancel Merlin’s concert because he supports his own people? No problem,” she stated, Klix.ba writes.
