Hate speech and ultranationalism threaten peace efforts in the Balkans, despite years of war crimes trials and reconciliation efforts in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Europe’s top body said on Thursday defense of rights.
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The bloody rupture of Yugoslavia saw a series of wars devastate the Balkans, with an estimated 130,000 deaths in conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Slovenia.
To help bring the perpetrators of the most serious crimes to justice, a series of high-profile trials have been conducted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Despite the court’s efforts and multiple convictions, the Council of Europe said reconciliation efforts were still lacking, partly due to poor political will.
“The consequences of this failure to pursue broader, historically sensitive reforms continue to undermine democratic progress and peace in the region,” the Council said in a report.
In its report, the council said politicians spread “ethno-nationalist discourse, denial of atrocities and glorification of war criminals.”
“The denial of genocide and other atrocities, the glorification of war criminals and attempts to restore the credibility of those convicted of war crimes in the 1990s are of great concern and are increasing in the region, including at the highest political levels.” , the report says.
The presence of war criminals — suspected and convicted attackers — in public institutions and services “has a serious impact on victims and survivors and on the success of rule of law reform efforts.”
In Serbia, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, and the Serbian Radical Party of Vojislav Seselj, convicted of crimes against humanity, have hinted that they will join forces in local elections in December.
Vucic began his political career under Seselj’s tutelage and worked as secretary general of the Radical Party before becoming information minister in the government of former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic in the late 1990s.
In neighboring Bosnia, the country Bosnian Serbian leader Milorad Dodik continues to assert that “there was no genocide in Srebrenica”, where Serbian forces killed around 8,000 Muslim men and teenagers.
Among several recommendations, the Council of Europe said that “state apologies are essential to recognize the seriousness of what happened and to influence society’s perception of the victims.”
The Council of Europe, which includes 46 member states, was established to monitor and defend human rights in Europe in the aftermath of World War II.
(AFP)