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BELGRADE, May 22 (FENA) – The denial and distortion of facts about the Srebrenica genocide is the most common form of institutional denial of war crimes in Serbia, according to a report by the Youth Initiative for Human Rights Serbia (YIHR).
YIHR published its annual report on war crimes denial titled "State of Denial – Serbia 2024: Lying About Crimes Committed Under the State Flag.”
This is the third report that tracks, through several segments, the institutional denial of war crimes committed during the 1990s by officials of the Republic of Serbia.
One of the report’s authors and a YIHR researcher, Branimir Đurović, told Detektor that the significance of the report lies in confronting the past and acknowledging responsibility for crimes.
“This is necessary for a democratic society. We map all existing practices of war crimes denial and the glorification of criminals in Serbia. It is our contribution and a form of warning to the authorities and the public that these practices remain alive and are coming from the top levels of government, including mayors, company directors, and the media that promote them,” said Đurović.
The report concludes that the most commonly denied crime in Serbia remains the Srebrenica genocide, as was the case in 2024. Due to the adoption of the Srebrenica Resolution at the UN General Assembly, which declares July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide and condemns genocide denial and the glorification of perpetrators, the topic of the Srebrenica genocide gained increased public attention and presence in officials’ statements.
“Spring and early summer, and to a good extent the rest of the year, were marked by an intense campaign by Serbian authorities against the adoption of the Resolution. (…) In addition to diplomatic efforts to persuade other states to vote against it, the campaign included extremely negative rhetoric about the Resolution and its sponsors, and the distortion of facts,” the report states, adding that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was the central figure in shaping the narrative around the Resolution.
The Srebrenica Resolution as the cornerstone of the election campaign
Đurović stated that Srebrenica is, for him, the most significant example of denial, not only due to the genocide itself being denied, but also due to the widespread campaign involving the government, opposition, and Church representatives.
YIHR notes that the dominant narrative promoted by top officials was that the Resolution declares Serbs a “genocidal people,” and that its adoption would lead to the abolition of Republika Srpska, demands for war reparations, and “additional pressure” on Serbia regarding Kosovo and its foreign policy orientation.
“Part of this narrative was also the denial that genocide occurred in Srebrenica, and portraying the campaign against the Resolution as the struggle of a small freedom-loving country against powerful states. A frequent theme of the campaign included references to the suffering of Serbs in World War II and comparisons with the Srebrenica crime,” the report states.
“They declared victory after the UN General Assembly vote, which is a bizarre situation given that the Resolution was adopted,” Đurović commented.
From the moment the draft resolution was announced, it became the most prominent topic in Serbia and the focal point of the campaign for local elections held on June 2, 2024.
“The Serbian Progressive Party, Serbian Radical Party, NADA coalition, Zavetnici, the Socialist Movement, and the Socialist Party of Serbia all responded to the Resolution announcement with a new wave of genocide denial and glorification of war criminals,” the report states.
YIHR emphasizes that denial has “gained momentum,” particularly in relation to the Srebrenica genocide, as evidenced by the silence surrounding a letter by Radoslav Krstić published by the IRMCT in November 2024. In the letter, requesting early release, Krstić accepted personal responsibility and, as a convict for aiding and abetting genocide, said he “would vote for the Srebrenica Resolution.”
War criminals in the Serbian media
According to YIHR, the media exploitation of war criminals is inevitable given the high level of media and societal polarization in Serbia. By frequently giving airtime to convicted war criminals, the media enables regular manipulation, relativization, and denial of crimes.
“While a few media outlets maintain a critical approach to war crimes, tabloids like Informer, Kurir, Večernje novosti, Politika, Srpski telegraf, and Alo frequently feature convicted criminals as commentators on a wide range of topics, offering them space to freely discuss political and social issues in Serbia and beyond, often without mentioning their convictions or questioning their responsibility,” the report states.
Trials as a form of denial
YIHR highlights the trial of Milenko Živanović as an example of institutional denial by Serbian judicial authorities. The War Crimes Department of the Higher Court in Belgrade is not trying Živanović for crimes against humanity, as he is charged before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the same events from July 1995, but only for the forcible displacement of Bosniak civilians—qualifying the act as a war crime against the civilian population.
Živanović is a former commander of the Drina Corps of the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS), who led the VRS offensive to capture Srebrenica in July 1995, resulting in the killing of over 7,000 Bosniak men and boys.
Additionally, in the Tuzla Gate case, no progress was made in 2024 in enforcing the 2014 Court of BiH ruling sentencing General Novak Đukić to 20 years in prison. Since 2018, when experts found Đukić unfit to stand trial, examinations have taken place annually, consistently yielding the same result.
“The delay in this case, along with the failure of the Belgrade Court of Appeals to rule on recognizing the BiH court’s verdict in Đukić’s case, has been a long-standing criticism by the European Commission in its progress reports on Serbia’s EU accession,” YIHR concludes, BIRN BiH reported.
(FENA) S. R.
