Dželal Hodžić for CIVIL MEDIA: Srebrenica genocide denial is the final stage of the crime

However, in the Balkans, the lesson has still not been fully learned. Historical revisionism, the glorification of war criminals, and institutional silence continue to represent an active threat to peace and to confronting the past.

On the occasion of marking the 31st anniversary of the genocide, CIVIL MEDIA spoke with Dželal Hodžić, columnist, civil society activist, and president of the Party of Democratic Action of Macedonia (SDA Makedonija). We spoke with Hodžić about the significance of July 11, the concerning silence of the state leadership in the country, the dangers of fascist ideologies that feed on relativizing crimes, as well as the duty of new generations to build societies resilient to evil.

CIVIL MEDIA: The International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica was observed. What does this day mean to you personally, as well as to the Bosniak community in North Macedonia?

DŽELAL HODŽIĆ: Srebrenica is the greatest tragedy to have occurred on European soil since the Second World War. There are no words that can describe the feelings of anyone who tries to stand in solidarity and sympathize with the victims of the genocide and their families. Especially if you listen to the testimonies of the survivors. Not to mention how shocking it is when you see that there are those who deny the genocide or relativize it. And even more so when some of the deniers or relativizers most hypocritically present themselves as people who speak about human rights and democracy. The question arises – would genocide deniers repeat it, if they could, at the very next opportunity?

The Bosniak people in North Macedonia remember the victims of the Srebrenica genocide every year. The difference between the Bosniaks living in North Macedonia and the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica in July 1995 is merely the geographical position they were in at the time the genocide was taking place. The victims of the genocide were victims solely because they belonged to the Bosniak people, and the brutally murdered bore Bosniak and Muslim names. Our goal is for this to never be forgotten and for it never to be repeated to anyone.

Remembering the victims of the genocide is also the civilizational obligation of a democratic state. Up until the moment I am answering your questions, I have not seen that the President of the State, Gordana Siljanovska, the Prime Minister, Hristijan Mickoski, and the Government of North Macedonia, through their communication channels, have sent a message of remembrance for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide. In Mickoski’s government, there is a minister who, in an interview, called the remembrance of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide a “Necrophilic Disneyland.”

Such practices open up many questions, both domestic and regional…

CIVIL MEDIA: More than three decades have passed since the Srebrenica genocide. Do you think the region has learned the lesson from that crime, especially when it comes to confronting the past, genocide denial, and building lasting peace?

DŽELAL HODŽIĆ: It is obvious that there are forces that still deny the genocide and among whom great nervousness is noticeable, ever since the moment the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 78/282 on May 23, 2024, declaring July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.

The US House of Representatives and the Senate, as early as 2005, and later in 2015 and 2020, adopted resolutions unequivocally defining the crime in Srebrenica as genocide. The European Parliament, through several resolutions, and especially the one from 2009, managed to introduce July 11 as a Day of Remembrance for the Srebrenica Genocide at the level of the entire European Union. The parliaments of Canada and Australia also adopted declarations including the Srebrenica genocide in educational programs and official calendars of remembrance.

Such resolutions were also adopted in the parliaments of Montenegro, North Macedonia, Croatia, Kosovo, and Albania, thereby creating a sort of “civilizational circle” around Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which the genocide is recognized as a shared pain and a warning.

We see how democratic forces in Serbia as well nurture the memory of the Srebrenica genocide. There are multiple political parties, non-governmental organizations, civic initiatives, and intellectuals who every year persistently call for confronting the past regarding this issue in Serbia.

This year, in Belgrade, the writer Vladimir Arsenijević was beaten while trying to clean the area where a commemoration for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide was planned to be held.

The conclusion is that there are still too many loud fascist elements in the region for us to say the lesson has been learned.

CIVIL MEDIA: In a time when we are once again witnessing wars, mass suffering, and the spread of hate speech based on ethnic and religious grounds, how important is it to preserve the historical truth about Srebrenica, and what role do political and social actors play in that process?

DŽELAL HODŽIĆ: It is important. The final stage of genocide is its denial. One great victory is that remembering the victims of the Srebrenica genocide is part of the institutional memory in the UN, the USA, the EU, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the civilized world.

The bad news is that fascist ideologies still feed on denying the Srebrenica genocide, as well as other horrific crimes, through various false theories—along with the clear intention of justifying evil.

It is important to remember; by doing so, the chances of it being repeated are reduced.

CIVIL MEDIA: What message would you like to send to the younger generations in North Macedonia and beyond, who do not have personal memories of the horrific events of July 1995?

DŽELAL HODŽIĆ: Totalitarian ideologies throughout history have caused much evil. Concealed evil can very easily take on an authentic form in any society. Through educational processes, young people must be prepared to be responsible actors in their societies, in which human rights should be respected, and institutions should have a humanistic approach to all citizens, in order to establish prevention so that evil does not take a societal form.

Democracy is not perfect, but a better system has not been invented so far. Young people should dream of a perfect world, and carry within themselves solidarity with the disenfranchised, the weak, the marginalized, and the poor.

Young people must continue the fight for free and equal societies, where every individual will have an equal chance. Regardless of skin color, religion, and nation.

Until then, we must lead by example to show young people that we too believe in and are fighting for the same thing.

CIVIL MEDIA: Indeed, the nervousness and aggression caused by the establishment of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the Genocide in Srebrenica among certain regimes in the region, but also more broadly within the ranks of nationalists and fascists, is evident. How important is this international confirmation as a response to those policies?

DŽELAL HODŽIĆ: It has a massive positive significance. This year on July 11, the importance of remembering the victims of the Srebrenica genocide was discussed on the premises of the United Nations. The resolution itself encourages individual countries to find ways, through educational programs, to draw lessons from the Srebrenica genocide.

The adopted resolution itself is a defeat for the authoritarian regimes of Vučić and Dodik, who, for their denial of the genocide, had the support of the dictator Putin, who is currently carrying out an aggression against Ukraine.

Interview prepared by: Xhabir Deralla

Dželal Hodžić for CIVIL MEDIA: Srebrenica genocide denial is the final stage of the crime — and the region still has not learned its lesson

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