The Director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, Emir Suljagić, sent a letter to Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, expressing concern over a possible meeting between Kaploun and Milorad Dodik during his visit and the commemoration at the Jasenovac concentration camp from World War II.
Suljagić stressed that such a meeting could legitimize genocide denial, given Dodik’s long-standing record of denying the Srebrenica genocide and his openly hostile rhetoric toward its victims and survivors.
Suljagić’s letter reads in full:
Dear Mr. Kaploun,
I am writing to you as Emir Suljagić, Director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, regarding reports that Mr. Milorad Dodik plans to host or take part in your upcoming visit and the commemoration at the Jasenovac concentration camp from World War II.
While paying tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and maintaining relations between Jews and Bosniaks is of great importance to me and the Srebrenica Memorial Center, I must respectfully draw your attention to Mr. Milorad Dodik’s long-standing denial of the Srebrenica genocide, along with his public hostility toward its victims and survivors. His statements—particularly when he described the remains buried by families at the Srebrenica Memorial Center as “animal bones”—are not just offensive; they dismiss documented crimes and inflict real harm on survivors and victims’ families.
In light of your role in combating antisemitism and promoting remembrance and truth, any public association with a politician who continues to deny another genocide would be deeply troubling. It risks giving legitimacy to such denial and weakening the principles of remembrance, justice, and intercommunal solidarity that our communities try to uphold.
As someone who has dedicated both his public and personal life to building ties between Bosniaks and Jews—often at personal sacrifice—I would urge you to reconsider any public engagement with Mr. Milorad Dodik, unless there is a clear and public rejection of his genocide denial.
The least I ask is that you:
a) acknowledge publicly Mr. Dodik’s record of genocide denial in Srebrenica should you proceed with any formal meeting; and/or
b) refrain from public appearances that could be interpreted as support for Mr. Dodik, or make such meetings conditional upon a clear distancing from his denialist rhetoric.
If you find it useful, I remain at your disposal to provide documentation and testimonies regarding Mr. Dodik’s statements and their impact on survivors, families, and memorial work. I would be glad to speak with you directly before any public engagement.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your continued efforts to defend memory and human dignity.
