Learning about genocide should be directed towards preventing repetition and realizing the principle of “Never Again”

Genocide denial is an organized and institutionalized phenomenon

LEARNING ABOUT GENOCIDE AIMED AT PREVENTING REPTATION AND ACHIEVING THE PRINCIPLE OF “NEVER AGAIN”

During the continuation of the conference “Srebrenica 30 Years After the Genocide: Memory, Responsibility, and Challenges of Denial,” Kim Sadique (De Montfort University) presented her work, which problematizes the learning about genocide conceived as a transformative experience that aims to encourage students and visitors of memorial museums to take initiative and act to prevent the recurrence of such and similar crimes in the future, and to contribute to realizing the principle of “Never Again,” proposing the application of “pedagogy for social change.”

Pinar Akarcay (Istanbul University) introduced interesting concepts into the field of genocide research. “The main feature of politicides and democides is the coordinated and persistent attempt by the state or dominant social groups to, partially or fully, destroy a social or political group. The genocide in Srebrenica, almost the first genocide committed in Europe, is not only an example of genocide but also an example of politicide and democide,” emphasizes Akarcay.

In the last thirty years, numerous attempts have been made to acknowledge the political responsibility of the Netherlands regarding the Srebrenica genocide. According to Nike Wentholt (University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht), these attempts have only partially, minimally resulted in acknowledgment. In her joint scientific article, Wentholt and Alma Mustafić argue that the Dutch policy and society did not utilize the opportunity when numerous civil court proceedings resulted in establishing the Netherlands' responsibility for the killing of over 350 Bosniaks.

“With the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international community incorporated into the Dayton Peace Agreement the idea that the return of Bosniaks is a human right and a form of justice, restoring property rights and displaced communities. In reality, the process of return has been – and remains even after 30 years – complex and uneven. This presentation examines the experience of returning home through two lenses: ‘domicide’ as a description of the damage caused during the war, on one hand, and ‘restoration of belonging’ as an idealized goal of the post-war period, on the other,” stated David Simon (Yale University).

At the end of the day, Sead Turčalo (UNSA) pointed out that denying the genocide in Srebrenica is not a spontaneous phenomenon or legitimate “second opinion,” but an organized and institutionalized phenomenon. Through systematic denial of legally established facts, victims and survivors are deprived of the right to truth and dignity, subjected to further humiliation, and the possibility of justice is undermined. “Revisionist narratives about Srebrenica employ recognizable methods of deception and manipulation – a complete inversion of facts, where victims are declared perpetrators, and the crime is portrayed as supposed ‘revenge’. A key tactic is the constant discrediting of sources of truth, from survivor testimonies and victim associations to the Hague Tribunal, which is falsely labeled as a ‘political court,’ all aimed at destroying trust in evidence and facts,” concluded Turčalo.

Tonight (2 July ), at Meeting Point Cinema at 19:30, a special screening of the films “Quo Vadis, Aida?” directed by Jasmila Žbanić, and the short feature “Mother” by renowned Turkish director Rasit Gorgulu will be organized.

Tomorrow (Thursday, 3 July), after the planned visit to the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potočari, the conference will be closed with a concert by the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra at the National Theatre starting at 20:00, which is open to the public. This especially emotional concert will feature Gustav Mahler’s “Kindertotenlieder” (Songs of the Death of Children), a cycle of songs that powerfully and poignantly express the pain of parental loss and the fragility of human life. The orchestra will be conducted by maestro Samra Gulamović, with mezzo-soprano Amila Ravkić as the soloist. During the event, a video essay directed by Danis Tanović, combining Damir Šagolj’s photographs with poetry by Faruk Šehić, will be presented. The concert pays tribute not only to children who perished in the Srebrenica genocide but also to children who died in wars and conflicts worldwide.

All events are a part of the University of Sarajevo’s program titled “Responsibility for the Future.