”Denial of the genocide in Srebrenica is the same ideology as the Nazi ideology of the Holocaust and Holocaust denial, ” Bisera Turkovic, foreign minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), told the prominent Israeli newspaper ”The Haaretz”.
She spoke about the situation in BiH and commented on the case of the announced award of the German Order to Gideon Grief, who denied the genocide in Srebrenica.
“We understand that Germany has decided to postpone the award ceremony, which is very important since denying the genocide in Srebrenica is dangerous and can have unforeseeable consequences. The Srebrenica genocide has been convicted by international court rulings, as well as courts in BiH. Denial of everything that is established at court and legally not only lead to anarchy and legal uncertainty, but also to destabilization ofthe entire region of the Western Balkans. It is an introduction to new conflicts, divisions, and crimes, “ Turkovic emphasized among other things.
She expressed the view that Professor Grief, whose contribution to Holocaust research no one denies, was simply “abused for political purposes” and called for a stronger role for the United States (U.S.) administration in BiH, especially President Joe Biden.
“Genocide denial has become a tool of some separatist forces in BiH, which provoke divisions and conflicts with the aim of destabilizing the region. Endangering the Dayton Peace Agreement, and that is exactly what Milorad Dodik’s policy is doing, is endangering peace in the entire Balkans,” the head of BiH diplomacy mentioned.
The paper also quoted a statement by Gideon Grief claiming that he deserved recognition and that it was an “attack by Bosnian Muslims on a Jewish scientist.”
But, the author of the text pointed out that in response to Grief’s claims, Turkovic submitted a list of names of Bosnians and Herzegovinians who saved Jews during the Holocaust and therefore found themselves in Yad Vashem and received the titles of righteous people among nations.
“Let me be a little personal, because my origin is partly Jewish, the denial of genocide in Srebrenica is the same ideology as the Nazi ideology of the Holocaust and Holocaust denial,” Turkovic noted.
E.Dz.
Source: Klix.ba