As Biljana Plavšić leaves her comfortable prison cell in Sweden, another famous Bosnian war criminal is about to receive his possible sentence for genocide and war crimes during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia Herzegovina. Radovan Karadžić, who sooner or later has to face the judges of the Hague tribunal, has once again become the center of media’s attention. An attention fairly negatively angled by most decent news agencies, but none the less, attention which he might use to strengthen the extremist nationalist ideology he put into life during the war in Bosnia and the subsequent denial of the events this resulted in.

That Karadžić denies the fact that he was responsible for thousand of people’s deaths shouldn’t be surprising for anyone. What surprised me as a foreigner though, was that the same rhetoric used by indicted war criminals of the ICTY like Mr. Karadžić himself, is currently used by, not only segments of the Bosnian population, but also their leaders fifteen years after the war. For example, the RS Prime Minister, Milorad Dodik, recently denied the Bosnian Serb massacre of seventy young people in the town of Tuzla in May 1995. He subsequently greeted Biljana Plavšić, convicted for crimes against humanity, at her arrival to Belgrade on an official plane of Republika Srpska, and continues to denounce that Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide during the war.
If this is not enough for a victim to swallow what about the “low-scale” perpetrators still living next door? How can one reconcile when your rapist goes free and his commander is granted access to higher human rights standards by The Hague than any average Bosnian? For me it seems like the war is still ongoing, just on a political level, but with the same intentions and ideological motives as before. That the EU is letting this happen, when given the highest authority to create stability and cooperation, is disappointing, but also understandable. Nobody can be forced to admit or reconcile if they not want to do so, but as the wish to join the EU is a common goal for all Bosnians, measures should be taken on own initiative as well as support of the foreign efforts in an attempt to create a more prosperous future for everyone, independent of ethnic belonging.
The EU, whose position focuses on reconciliation and peaceful coexistence in the Balkans, has clearly stated that Bosnia has to go through a reconciliation process if it is to ever realize itself as a member state and part of the European family. This has been emphasized in the European Parliament’s resolution of the 15th of January 2009 on Srebrenica in the fight against the denial of genocide in BiH, but has unfortunately had little or no effect on the general atmosphere in the country. For, while the EU is focusing on implementing reforms and constitutional change, it must understand that the obstructionist voices they meet at the negotiation table is a product of the international society’s failure to eradicate fascism and introduce lustration laws in post-war Bosnia. Stopping the actual war is one thing, creating a positive peace is something else. The early release of Biljana Plavšić serves as a prime example of failure in dealing with the issue, as it sends out signals that committing war crimes is a less serious affair than stealing a car.
Passing a law that outlaws denial of genocide should definitely be the first step as my Professor once told me. It does not have to be at the national level, as that is hard to realize due to continues ethnic blocking, but at least at the entity or cantonal level where the laws has a higher chance to pass. Such outlawing will to some extent prevent deniers form using public platforms, like the media or the educational system, in spreading false facts and propaganda. If for example Sarajevo Canton passed such a law, politicians from the whole country would be less reluctant to use extremist rhetoric when in the capital in fear of possible sanctions, as violation of these laws should include severe punishment.  EU should on their side deny extremist Bosnian politicians and their family’s visas to the union, as political analyst Kurt Bassuener refers to, and local run prisons (in Bosnia) with international objective personnel should be established to make sure that the convicted serve their sentence without ability to flee with help of disloyal prison guards, as happened in Foča a couple of years ago.
The mentioned steps are of course far away enough in bringing reconciliation to the people of Bosnia, but it is of importance that people accept the fact that crimes were committed, even those committed by its own people, and that they are ready to deal with them on the basis of justice and respect for the victims. I hope there will be a chance for Bosnians to forgive and consolidate with the past and that coexistence will prevail as the basis for a united future within the EU family.