Srebrenica Memorial Director: Srebrenica Genocide must be taught in schools

N1

A law banning genocide denial would be very welcome, but it is also important that what happened in the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica during the war is taught in schools, the Director of the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial Center, Emir Suljagic, told N1 on Friday, adding that these should be no political discussions on facts established by courts.

If a law banning genocide denial would be adopted, people such as the Serb member of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency, Milorad Dodik, would bear sanctions if the publically said that a genocide did not take place in Srebrenica, Suljagic said.

But he argued that he including the Srebrenica Genocide in the curricula in schools is just as important.

“There must be at least a minimum of the facts established by courts in the curricula,” he stressed, adding that this is “non-negotiable.”

“What happened in occupied Srebrenica, in occupied Sarajevo, in occupied Bihac or Tuzla is something we can not negotiate about,” he said.

Suljagic noted, however, that it would be very difficult to include the Srebrenica Genocide in the curricula across the entire country.