Following the placement of billboards in East Sarajevo that attempt to portray the late Alija Izetbegović, the first President of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as responsible for war crimes, the director of the Sarajevo Memorial Center, Ahmed Kulanić, harshly condemned this act.
He described it as another attempt at historical revisionism, political manipulation, and the deliberate distortion of judicial facts.
“Official commemorations and honors under the auspices of state and entity institutions are being given to Ratko Mladić and Biljana Plavšić. Top officials are participating in their glorification. This is a moral downfall and a humiliation for the victims.
At the same time, they are trying to present Alija Izetbegović as a criminal via billboards. No indictment was ever brought against Alija Izetbegović before the Hague Tribunal, let alone a conviction. Such rewriting of history deserves the harshest condemnation. A policy that celebrates convicted war criminals has no moral right to lecture on justice and responsibility. No state honors can wash away convicted crimes. No billboards can replace judicial verdicts. We will protect the truth about the defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina decisively, with dignity, and without backing down,” Kulanić pointed out.
Today, on the 23rd anniversary of the death of the first president of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegović, billboards appeared in Lukavica featuring his photograph and a message accusing him of crimes against the Serb people.
“Twenty-three years later – the blood-stained hands haven’t been washed clean by death, nor have those responsible for the crimes committed against the Serbian people been forgotten with the passage of time,” reads the message in Cyrillic, followed below in Latin script in English.
