There’s one thing fact-checkers in the region surely can count on – the end of June and the beginning of July are reserved for the denial of the Srebrenica genocide through spreading disinformation. We can all comfortably mark that in our calendars, the markdown would not be red but black.
This year, however, the UN Resolution on the genocide committed in Srebrenica has disrupted the pattern. The denial, fabrication of untruths, and endless perpetuation of old inaccurate narratives have been given wind in the sails. All of this is quite well organized. This orchestrated effort is clearly hierarchical – from politicians, down to the media, reaching individuals on social media platforms.
As usual, the predominant narrative claims that the Resolution and any recognition of the genocide will condemn the entire Serbian people, implicating all Serbs as genocidal. Yet, it is worth noting that neither the Serbian people nor Serbia as a state are implicated in the UN document, either as perpetrators or deniers of the genocide.
This narrative – that the intention is to portray Serbs as genocidal – is most fervently pushed by Milorad Dodik, who previously admitted that genocide took place in Srebrenica. He also collectivizes American sanctions, saying that Republika Srpska is constantly subjected to US sanctions, conveniently omitting that only he and select associates are actually sanctioned by the US.
Similarly, Aleksandar Vucic pushes this narrative almost every day through the media in which he appears, and there are quite a few such outlets. Aleksandar Vucic contributes to this narrative, presenting himself as engaged in a difficult personal struggle against villains for the greater good.
Aleksandar Vulin makes daily appearances in the articles published in online portals. For him, the Resolution is a revision of history. However, in the same appearance where he speaks of revising history, he says that World War III began with the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Local councilors also add their voices. They suggest that the revitalization of events in Srebrenica only benefits those who are ultimately responsible for what happened there. We can only hope that they mean Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic, Radislav Krstic, and others who have been convicted of genocide in Srebrenica – the responsible ones. Vladislav Dajkovic echoed the narrative pushed by Dodik, about genocidal Serbs, even though no one at the UN mentioned collective guilt.
The IN4S online portal remains one of the main trump cards in the game of denying the genocide, although they deny genocide and congratulate Draza Mihailovic on his birthday on the same day.
All of the above, in a top-down fashion, from politicians, through the media, leads individuals on social media to claim that there is no evidence of genocide, and they seek proof that genocide did not occur in the fact that Srebrenica is not mentioned in the Dayton Agreement.
Considering that the vote on the Resolution has been postponed, we can expect continuous denial of genocide and disinformation about it until August and the collective vacations.
Darvin Muric, Editor-in-Chief of Raskrinkavanje
This project is funded through a U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of State.