The glorification of war criminals and revision of well-established facts regarding the war is contrary to European values and taking steps toward reconciliation is among the 14 key priorities in Bosnia’s path toward EU candidate status, the EU Delegation in the country told N1 after Bosnia’s international administrator asked the parliament of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity to annul honours it awarded to war criminals.
Valentin Inzko, who is the High Representative tasked with overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia, sent the letter with the request to the National Assembly of the Serb-majority RS entity on Wednesday.
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It said that in 2016, the organizing committee which was established to mark the 25th anniversary of the existence and work of the RS National Assembly awarded “special charters and recognitions to numerous institutions, organizations and individuals.”
“Among those who received them were all former speakers of the National Assembly and members of the First Presidency of the RS, including Radovan Karadzic, Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana Plavsic, whose actions shocked the world during the armed conflict [in Bosnia] and caused unimaginable human suffering. As you know, Karadzic, Krajisnik and Plavsic were convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,” reads Inzko’s letter.
The Austrian diplomat stressed that “the glorification of war criminals, including glorification in the form in which we witnessed on October 24, 2016, directly hurts and provokes those who suffered the consequences of the war and damages the memory of the victims” and that it “destabilizes the region and threatens the prospects for reconciliation in BiH.”
He urged the RS Assembly to “show political maturity, moral responsibility and moderation towards the future, by revoking the charters with decorations awarded to convicted war criminals Karadzic, Krajisnik and Plavsic.”
“I am giving you and the RS National Assembly a period of three months, until the end of April 2021 [to do so],” Inzko stated in a letter addressed to RS National Assembly Speaker, Nedjeljko Cubrilovic.
Politicians from Serb ethnic parties in the RS condemned the letter, saying the request will not be fulfilled.
“Glorifying war criminals, revisionism and denying well-documented and established facts about the events of the war, including war crimes, are contrary to the most basic European values,” the EU Delegation said.
“We remind that taking concrete steps to improve the environment conducive to reconciliation in order to overcome the legacy of war is one of the 14 key priorities from the European Commission's Opinion on BiH's application for EU membership,” it said.
It said that all political institutions and actors in the country should express their full and unequivocal commitment to respect for the rule of law, as well as to create an environment conducive to reconciliation.
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