In a recent statement, the Srebrenica Memorial Center refuted the allegations made by BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik that Presidency Chairman Sefik Dzaferovic violated procedure by inviting officials to attend the commemoration ceremony for the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The Memorial Center affirms that in delivering these invitations, Mr. Dzaferovic acted fully within the authority of his office and in accordance with standard diplomatic protocol.

"The contents of the invitation do not state anywhere that the invitation is delivered on behalf of the institution of the Presidency of BiH as a whole, and the memorandum of the invitation itself indicates that the invitation was delivered by a member of the BiH Presidency. Our mandate and mission is to uncover and diseeminate the truth about the Srebrenica genocide. In this endeavor, we have never used hate speech, minimized or denied non-Bosniak victims, or celebrated or justified convicted war criminals. In this regard, we emphasize that the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide will be conducted in the same spirit which is embodied every July 11th, in accordance to the wishes of the victims’ families and the survivors of genocide,” said the Srebrenica Memorial Center.

The Srebrenica Memorial Center also pointed out that the invitations could not have been sent by Mr. Dzaferovic in a private capacity or as a member of the Organizing Committee of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, as this would have been contrary to the protocols of international diplomatic communication. 

“All invitations sent by the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sefik Dzaferovic, were made on the basis of interviews with representatives of the victims’ associations, the leadership of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, and the Organizing Committee for the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. All official communications with foreign heads of state and international organizations were carried out in full adherence to international diplomatic protocol. The invitations were delivered on behalf of the state institution of the Srebrenica Memorial Center represented by the Organizing Committee, through a member of the BiH Presidency. In this way, all communications were channeled through the diplomatic and consular missions of BiH, as required by procedural norms. The Law on the Memorial Center authorizes the Srebrenica Memorial Center to carry out all activities relevant to the work of this institution. It is also worth noting that the crime of genocide which occurred in BiH is cited ten separate times in the current legal code of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a judicially established and incontrovertible fact. BiH Presidency Member Milorad Dodik is urged to comply with the binding laws of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and reminded that attempts to deny or redefine the Srebrenica genocide in any manner which contradicts the final judgments of the ICJ, ICTY, and Court of BiH, will be subject to future review before national and international courts for liability for hate speech and incitement to intolerance, " the Memorial Center added.

“We take this opportunity to invite Mr. Dodik to continue to take part in the organization of a unified response by the State of BiH to the challenges posed by the current pandemic. We ask that he refrain from manufacturing artificial crises and manipulating the judicially established facts of genocide,” the Memorial Center concluded.