The risk of new conflicts: failure to deal with the violent past threatens peace in the former Yugoslavia
Kyiv • UNN
A Council of Europe report warns of potential new conflicts in the former Yugoslavia as politicians glorify war criminals and parts of the region move away from seeking accountability for the wars of the 1990s. The report emphasizes serious concerns about the denial of past atrocities, which threatens peace and democratic progress in the region.
According to a report by the a report by the Council of Europe, politicians in several countries of the former Yugoslavia are spreading the "glorification of of war criminals", in addition, the suspected or convicted persons themselves retain their positions in institutions and public services. Thus, the region is retreating from from seeking justice and accountability for the brutal wars of the 1990s, which may open the way for new conflicts. This is reported by UNN with reference to France24.
Denial of genocide and other atrocities, glorification of war criminals and attempts to restore confidence in persons convicted of war crimes in the 1990s are a cause for serious concern and are spreading in the region, including at the highest political level. (... ) The consequences of this failure to undertake broader reforms sensitive to the past continue to undermine democratic progress and peace in the region
Details
The report notes that the region has long been retreating from seeking justice and accountability for the brutal wars of the 1990s in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, which claimed the lives of more than 130,000 people. In particular, the impact of the impact of legal breakthroughs, such as the establishment of the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, the The Hague and the arrest and conviction of many political and military leaders responsible for mass killings, responsible for mass killings. Despite years of war crimes trials war crimes trials, peace efforts in the Balkans are still threatened by hate speech and ultra-nationalism. hate speech and ultranationalism.
The example of In Serbia, the ruling Progressive Party of President Aleksandar Vucic and the Serbian radical party of Vojislav Seselj, who was convicted of crimes against humanity, have hinted that they will join forces during the local elections in December.
Vucic began his political career under the his political career under Šešelj's tutelage and served as secretary general of the Radical Party and then reportedly became the Minister of Information in the government of of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the late 1990s.
Meanwhile, in Republika Republika Srpska, the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia that was separated in largely as a result of ethnic cleansing that killed about 8,000 of Muslim men and teenagers, the country's Bosnian Serb leader, Milorad Dodik claims that there was no "genocide."
Dodik, in particular describes the 1995 Srebrenica genocide as a "fabricated myth."
The Guardian points out that Bosnian Serb leader and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has have close ties to Moscow. The Human Rights Council Commissioner also warns about the existence of "Russian support for Serbian right-wing activists and organizations," which is "multifaceted and ranges from online activities to military training."
