EU Delegation Head condemns RS politician's statement

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Glorifying war crimes is contrary to the values necessary for Bosnia's EU integration, the Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia, Lars-Gunnar Wigemark, said on Thursday, commenting the offensive statements a Bosnian Serb politician tweeted during Wednesday’s anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.

As the family members of those massacred during the 1995 Srebrenica massacre were putting their loved ones to rest after 23 years of searching for their remains, member of the Main Board of the party in power in Bosnia’s Serb-dominated part, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), Rajko Vasic, took to Twitter and denied the genocide ever took place, saying it was a lie made up by Sarajevo and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in an effort to portray Bosnian Muslims as victims.

Statements made by Bosnian Serb politicians denying the genocide are not out of the ordinary, but the Office of the High Representative (OHR), the international body in charge of overseeing the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia, interpreted one particular tweet Vasic posted as a threat with another genocide.

Bosnian prosecutors said they are checking whether to launch an investigation into the controversial tweet. 

“The glorification of war crimes or genocide challenges the very same values this country’s leaders and institutions committed to respect and promote by applying for EU membership,” Wigemark said. “Moreover, making public threats of genocide is not only deplorable but also punishable by law,” he added.