On July 11, 2022 Bosnia-Herzegovina marked the 27th anniversary of the killings of thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serbian forces during the Bosnian war. More than 3,000 people participated in the March of Peace 2022 that culminated on July 10 following a 110-kilometer, three-day hike to the Potocari memorial cemetery ahead of the ceremony. 
In July 1995, more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were rounded up and killed by Bosnian Serb forces in the eastern town of Srebrenica – the worst mass killing in Europe since World War II. So far, 6,671 people have been identified and buried. 
The remains of 50 recently identified victims of the Srebrenica genocide were buried in the frame of the Srebrenica Remembrance Day at the Potocari memorial cemetery on July 11, 2022.  The bloodshed came at the end of the 1992 - 95 Bosnian War, pitting the Serbs against Bosniaks and Croats that claimed some 100,000 lives. 
Albanian Daily News had the opportunity to talk with the President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Sonja Biserko, who attended the events in Srebrenica, and she shared with us some of her opinions on that genocidal massacre as well as the current atmosphere after 27 years in Bosnia and Herzegovina but in the Western Balkans, too, seeing the trend of the developments against the background of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.    
“Srebrenica is paradigm for all genocides committed in the last 40 years. Mostly because it took place in Europe despite the “never again” promise after the Second World War. Srebrenica is reminder to all those in the international community for their moral failure to prevent the genocide though there were all indicators as of 1992,” said President Biserko. 
Speaking of the current situation in the Western Balkans she said that it is “unfinished business” and the Dayton Agreement is the “strait jacket” for Bosnia. “Serbia still aspires to territories in Bosnia and part of Kosovo, and Montenegro. Russia is supporting its ambitions and is a major obstruction in resolving frozen conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo. Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said that “there won’t be peace in the Balkans until Serbs get united”.” 
Asked about how people and particularly youth in Serbia consider the Srebrenica genocide President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia Biserko noted: “Young generations in Serbia are growing up on denial and relativization of everything that took place in 90s. War criminals are treated as heroes who sacrificed for Serb national interests, Ratko Mladic murals are all over Serbia and Belgrade streets.” 
On July 12, 2022, red paint was poured on the entrance door and on the staircase of the office of the peace group ‘Women in Black’ located in Belgrade, said a statement released by the peace group which organized numerous activities in the frame of the Srebrenica Day. 
In the meantime, according to Biserko, any aspiration to change of borders in the region should be prevented and forbidden, curriculum in the schools should reflect the objective truth that can help younger generations to understand why Yugoslavia collapsed in as such a brutal way and what was the role of Serbia in its disintegration. 
In a comment on the Open Balkan Project Biserko does not believe in that initiative, and according to her it is not conceptualized, it rather reflects Serbian- Albanian interest, and North Macedonia is in the worst position and the EU let it down despite all the efforts that country made, including the change of its name.   
Further, she stressed that as things stand now, Serbia gave up on its EU membership and it refused to choose the side in the Ukraine war. According to Biserko, she thought the current government never truly wanted to become an EU member but would not give up on the support it gets from the EU. On the other hand, the EU is constantly appeasing to Serbia hoping to keep her on the European track. That has to change, she said.   
“The EU is continuously blocking the beginning of the approximation process with North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania. In this extraordinary international context the EU has to become more responsive to the challenges confronting the Western Balkans,” said the founder and President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Sonja Biserko, in the following interview: 

Albanian Daily News:  A three-day peace march in Bosnia and Herzegovina which ended on Sunday climaxed with the burial ceremony of the remains of 50 Bosniak victims who were laid to rest at the Potocari Memorial Cemetery in Srebrenica. This is the 27th anniversary of the 1995 genocide and the number of discovered victims rises along with the pain and animosity between the different communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As you have followed everything around the three-and-a-half-year genocide committed against Bosniaks in that country in 1992 to 1995 what do 27 years after show as war is unfolding on European soil in Ukraine? 
Sonja Biserko: Srebrenica is paradigm for all genocides committed in the last 40 years. Mostly because it took place in Europe despite the “never again” promise after the Second World War. Srebrenica is reminder to all those in the international community for their moral failure to prevent the genocide though there were all indicators as of 1992.  Ambassador Diego Arria who was in the field in 1993 has warned Security Council that the “slow motion genocide” was taking place in Bosnia. It was the first time the word genocide was mentioned in connection with Bosnia. Arria was Venezuela’s ambassador to the UN from 1991 to 1993 and president of the Security Council in March 1992. 
Unfortunately, we are witnessing the new war in Europe again in which one nuclear power is destroying the country and bringing it to the ashes. International community once again missed the opportunity to react eight years ago when Crimea was annexed. The war in Ukraine started then and the West easily accepted the new reality. In fact, it was the beginning of a disruption of the international rules-based order in Europe. 

- Do you think that last year’s amendment by the Office of the High Representative (OHR) included in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s criminal code to outlaw the public denial, condoning, trivialization or justification of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes has helped to discourage hatred and violence between Bosnian Muslims and Serb community in this country? 
- This law is welcome and should have been introduced much earlier. As I understand, public denial statements in Republica Srpska (not in Serbia) decreased but Prosecution did not take into consideration yet about fifty applications to the Prosecution office. Unfortunately, it does not mean that Respublika Srpska changed its stance. On the contrary, Republica Srpska has set up the International Commission which issued new Report on Srebrenica which denies that it was a genocide. The Report was signed by a very prominent scholar from Israel Gideon Greif. 
Greif met with numerous high-ranking officials in Serbia (2015-2019), as well as with film workers and religious officials such as the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church Irinej. President Vucic, awarded him a special state order. In 2019, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia awarded him the Knight of Svetosava pacifism plaque. He highly discredited himself by signing the report denying Srebrenica genocide. The German president withdrew the award he was supposed to receive.  

- Commemoration of Srebrenica Remembrance Day is expanding beyond Bosnia. Albania’s Parliament was the last one to adopt a resolution to this effect. How much and in what way could such an ‘internationalization’ of the memory of Srebrenica help the establishment of co-existence, peace and stability in that country, but in the WB, too? 
- It is very important that the international community and individual countries are introducing Srebrenica Remembrance Day as a reminder to the world that such crimes are happening all over continuously. New international preventive mechanisms should be introduced which would alert on the hate crimes campaigns against certain groups (like it is happening now in India against Muslims) because dehumanization is the first step towards genocide. 

- If justice is not done and the perpetrators of the genocide are not brought to justice what will happen in the future and I have in mind the younger generation of all the communities of BiH and the region? 
- Western Balkans is “unfinished business”. the Dayton Agreement is the “strait jacket” for Bosnia. ICTY judgments have not served so far as the introduction to the dialogue which would bring about facing the past and reconciliation eventually. The war has continued by other means. Serbia still aspires to territories in Bosnia and part of Kosovo, and Montenegro. Russia is supporting its ambitions and is a major obstruction in resolving frozen conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo. Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said that “there won’t be peace in the Balkans until Serbs get united”. 
Young generations in Serbia are growing up in denial and relativization of everything that took place in the 90s. War criminals are treated as heroes who sacrificed for Serb national interests, Ratko Mladic murals are all over Serbia and Belgrade streets. First of all, any aspiration to change borders in the region should be prevented and forbidden, curriculum in the schools should reflect the objective truth that can help younger generations to understand why Yugoslavia collapsed in such a brutal way and what was the role of Serbia in its disintegration. As things stand now, one cannot expect major changes in the near future. We have cultivation of the “culture of oblivion”.  Facing the past is a transgenerational process that will require outside assistance. Unfortunately, Serbian elites believe that “Serbian World” is still possible. 

- As a follow up, ethnic Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb-dominated entity celebrated on January 9 in Banja Luka what they call their “national day” holiday, which the country’s top court has twice declared unconstitutional. It was evidenced that Members of the Russian “Night Wolves” motorcycle club marched as part of the Republika Srpska “national day” for a parade involving members of the entity’s police force, emergency workers, representatives of public institutions, sports organizations, and other associations. In face of all these events how much threatened further destabilization of BiH is and might there be further steps by Republika Srpska towards secession? 
- Bosnia has been on the edge of collapse for the last ten years. The Ukraine war brought back the US, NATO and EU in the Western Balkans especially in Bosnia in a more meaningful way. Their prompt reaction to the possibility of Russia opening the second front in the Balkans prevented further deterioration. Further developments in Bosnia will also depend on how Russia will get out from the war in Ukraine and whether the West will appease with some kind of Daytonization of Ukraine which would then be another frozen conflict in the heart of Europe. 

- Madame Biserko for the first time, the Netherlands offered an apology to the people of Srebrenica for the failure of Dutch forces to prevent the genocide in the town during the 1992-95 war. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren, who attended the ceremony on July 11, said "the international community failed to offer adequate protection to the people of Srebrenica… The Dutch government shares responsibility for the situation in which that failure occurred. For this, we offer our deepest apologies." How do you consider this delayed apology coming after 27 years? 
- Just to remind you that back in 1995 Dutch government had to resign because of Srebrenica. It is the source of enormous frustration and trauma for its society. Many young men who were part of Dutch bat committed suicide because they could not cope with the responsibility. This apology, though after so many years, is important. Dutch government also financially compensated the survivors of the genocide. But what about the others, especially Serbia? As long as Serbia denies the genocide in Srebrenica and does not show true empathy for Bosniaks it can be considered morally bankrupt. 

- To conclude, Ms. President, you were quoted as saying by DW on 09.06.2021 that Serbia cannot become a modern European society if it refuses to reckon with the past. But Belgrade refuses to accept the wording as genocide in Srebrenica by international courts, and the same stance is held regarding the bloodshed in Kosovo. What will happen with Serbia’s Euro-Atlantic future if it persists in such a stance, and will the EU tolerate this in the final decision on its membership in the Union? In addition, don’t members of the Open Balkans – Albania and North Macedonia- have reason to be concerned over such a stance?   
- First, I do not believe in the Open Balkan Project. Not only that it is not conceptualized, it rather reflects Serbian- Albanian interest. North Macedonia is in the worst position and the EU let it down despite all the efforts that country made, including the change of its name. 
As things stand now, Serbia gave up on its EU membership. It refused to choose a side in the Ukraine war. To be honest, I think the current government never truly wanted to become an EU member but would not give up on the support it gets from the EU. On the other hand, the EU is constantly appeasing to Serbia hoping to keep her on the European track. That has to change. Also, the EU is continuously blocking the beginning of the approximation process with North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania. In this extraordinary international context the EU has to become more responsive to the challenges confronting the Western Balkans.  
/ ADN