Truth is a Precondition for Dealing with the Past

Jozo Rados, a Croatian member of the European Parliament, said he supported the resolution on Srebrenica, and said he couldn’t understand Republika Srpska and Serbia’s resistance to the resolution.

“The resolution recognizes something that happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It’s impossible to build relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina without reconciliation,” Rados said.

Cristian Dan Preda, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Bosnia and Herzegovina, said he was working on the text of the Srebrenica resolution. He said respect to the victims should be paid in this way.

About 8,000 men and boys were killed in Srebrenica in July 1995. Court verdicts handed down so far have classified those mass murders as genocide. The adoption of the resolution on Srebrenica would mean paying respect to those victims.

Members of the European Parliament spoke to representatives of NGOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to help solve the current problems they are facing.

Dubravka Sujica, a member of the European Parliament from the Republic of Croatia, said it was necessary to establish the truth in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said media reporting plays a very important role in this regard, and should be unbiased. Sujica said that Bosnia and Herzegovina had full support from Croatia.

Mirna Buljugic, the director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, informed the representatives of the European Parliament on the limited freedom of expression in Bosnian media. She said more money needed to be invested in the media in order to make it more independent.

“In order for the media to objectively report on trials, the judiciary has to be more transparent. These two things are connected. We are writing history. Our voice on the happenings and facts related to wartime events is very important,” Buljugic said. She said more work needed to be done to process crime and corruption, which she described as present in almost all institutions.

Eduard Kukan, the chief of the working group of the Committee for External Affairs for the Western Balkans, said judicial bodies in Bosnia were under pressure. He said the working group was frustrated because they haven’t been able to reach any agreements without the help of politicians.

“Your country lags behind other countries. We do not have enough sticks to talk to your leaders. We are trying to deal with them, but they aren’t elected by us, but by you. Each government has to serve its people. We are here to stimulate progress, but your country has to perform those changes,” Kukan said. He said the international community has a responsibility towards Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to Kukan, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s road towards the European Union is a joint and difficult one. He said cooperation was important to hasten the process, and promised that he would make use of all opportunities to help Bosnia.

Dzenana Karup Drusko, the director of the Association for Transitional Justice, Responsibility and Remembrance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the role of civil society and the media was very important when it comes to dealing with the past.

“There is hope that good relations will be built in Bosnia and Herzegovina, primarily for the future generations. The facts and verdicts are very important for building those relations. The Hague legacy has to be accepted,” Karup Drusko said.

Dragana Jovanovic, president of the Friends of Srebrenica Association, said civil society is the only hope and bearer of changes in Republika Srpska.

“We are facing many problems, because we work in a totalitarian system. I am afraid we will be prevented from doing it soon. It is necessary to support the survival of organizations from RS, because centralization that includes the cities of Sarajevo and Banja Luka is present in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Jovanovic said. She said the level of corruption was very high and that it’s necessary to do something about it.

The meeting with the European parliamentarians was also attended by representatives of Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves, the Women Victims of War Association, the Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide, the Mothers of Srebrenica, the Initiative for Human Rights, student organizations from Srebrenica, Viva Zene from Tuzla, Medica from Zenica, Nova Generacija, Ostra Nula and the Abrasevic youth cultural center.