March 14, 2013

H. E. Stephen Harper

Prime Minister of Canada

H. E. John Baird

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs

H. E. Roméo A. Dallaire

Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity (Canada)

H. E. Guillermo E. Rishchynski

Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations

H. E. Tom Mulcair

Leader of the Official Opposition and Leader of Canada's New Democrats

H. E. Bob Ray

President of the Liberal Party, Canada

H. E. Brian Masse

Member of the Canadian Parliament and member of the Parliamentary Friendship Group Canada - Bosnia and Herzegovina

Distinguished Prime minister,

Distinguished Excellencies,

Allow us to address You on behalf of the survivors, victims and witnesses of the aggression on Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens and to request that on April 10th of this year at the UN General Assembly , where public discussion titled “Role of the International Criminal tribunal in accomplishment of justice and lasting peace between nations”, Canada uses its influence as one of the most respected members of the UN and not to allow representatives of the member nations whose citizens were convicted of war crimes by international courts and whose governments still refuse to acknowledge conviction for genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina which has been delivered by a number of international legal bodies, to actively participate in this event.

We firmly believe that it is not prudent to have Vuk Jeremic, president of the UN General Assembly, participate in this event since he is a citizen of Serbia who in a very aggressive way promotes nationalistic interests of Serbia, country that still denies genocide committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We are confident that even on April 10th of this year his presentation at the UN General Assembly seating will be geared toward “equating guilt” and critique of the International Court for War Crimes for former Yugoslavia.

We would like to remind you that Vuk Jeremic was personally responsible for scandalous play of Serbian nationalistic song “Mars na Drinu” which is a symbol of the extreme Serb nationalism, song which was used by fascist and nazy collaborators lead by Draza Mihajlovic as a motivator to commit crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Second World War. The same song during the most recent aggression and genocide committed against citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serb aggressors were listening to while they were raping, destroying and expelling and mercilessly killing Bosniak civilians in the cities and concentration camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995. This song was prohibited by the previous Government because it was inciting ethnic hatred, and even Serbian Government refused to use this song as a national anthem because of its provoking text and its history.

Institute for Research of Genocide is grateful to His Excellence Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the UN, for the fact that he publicly apologized on January 17th, 2013 expressing regret for pain that this incident caused to the victims and witnesses of the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina and genocide against its citizens. Secretary General has admitted that this song should not have been a part of the official program and that he was not aware of its historic context.

Such behaviour of Vuk Jeremic is unacceptable and therefore we humbly appeal to you to prevent Vuk Jeremic from executing diplomatic lie at the UN General Assembly event to be held on April 10th, 2013. This would be a great Canadian contribution to the truth and justice in the world.

Please do not stay silent as a democratic country which has accepted us as its citizens after our traumatic ordeal caused by the aggression against our country, crime against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we survivors and direct witnesses of the above crimes ask for your help to have our voices as Canadian citizens heard. If we remain silent we will be accomplices of the above mentioned crimes.

History has thought us that all major projects start falling apart not with major but rather small errors which can bring suspicion and disgust against projects and institutions – such as the UN as a global guarantor of peace, and we wish to remind you that with your efforts to have diplomatic sanctions imposed against Vuk Jeremic, president of the UN General Assembly, and barring his attendance at the public hearing to be held on April 10th of this year, you will demonstrate dedication to protection of integrity of the UN and to send a clear message to those who would dare damage the integrity of the UN in the future that such destructive acting would not be tolerated; that is does not pay to endure on the symbols of crime and spite against the international community where Canada has a very important role. Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada believes in open debate and free speech for all people, and is not trying to remove anyone's ability to do so in this matter. But the clear track record of open denial and obfuscation of the indisputable facts regarding the acts of genocide in Bosnia by nationalist forces of the Bosnian Serbs and their enablers in Serbia, makes providing a grand international forum to spread lies and disinformation about the genocide by their modern agents of historical distortion something that IGC cannot and will not support.

At the same time we invite all representatives of Bosniak and Bosnian and Herzegovina associations and individuals from all around the world to write a letter of similar content to their politicians and government representatives in order to prevent a diplomatic fraud which is in works for April 10th of this year at the UN General Assembly event perpetrated by Vuk Jeremic and in fact state of Serbia where he is coming from and to the detriment of the idea of humanity and peace, basics on which the Organization of UN is based upon.

Thank you for your attention regarding this urgent matter.

Sincerely yours,

Signatories:

Professor Emir Ramic

Director of the Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada, President of the Congress of North American Bosniak, Canadian Branch

Professor dr. Christian Schwarz-Schilling

Former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tilman Zülch,

Society for Threatened Peoples International , President, Göttingen, Germany

Professor dr. Francis Anthony Boyle

University of Illinois, College of Law, General Agent for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina before the International Court of Justice with Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Powers

Professor dr. David Pettigrew

Southern Connecticut State University, Steering Committee Member, Yale Genocide Studies Program

Professor dr. Marko Attila Hoare

University Kingston, London, England

Professor dr. Gregory H. Stanton

President, Genocide Watch, Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA

Professor dr. Keith Doubt

Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio, USA, Editor Spirit of Bosnia

Professor dr. Carole Hodge

Post Genocide Education Foundation

Professor dr. Erhard Busek

Coordinator of the South-Eastern Cooperative Initiative and Chairman of the Institute for Danube Region

Professor dr. Steven Leonard Jacobs

The University of Alabama

Professor dr.Anatoly Isaenko

Appalachian State University, Boone

Professor dr. Sakib Softic

Professor of Law, University of Sarajevo

Professor Kathleen Mahoney

Professor of law and a legal counsel for Bosnia in their case in the International Court of Justice against Serbia and Montenegro, Trudeau Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Roger M. Richards

Filmmaker-Photographer-Author

Rebecca Tinsley

Lower, London, United Kingdom

Chris Mathieu

Editor, Bosnia twenty years later and I love Bosnia

Matteo Bastianelli

Photographer and filmmaker

Igor Gontcharov

Univerzitety, Toronto, Canada

Academic, Professor dr. Smail Čekić

Univerzity, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Direcor of the Institute for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law of the Sarajevo University

Academic, Professor dr. Vladimir Premec

Academy of Sciences and Arts of BiH, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo, BiH

Academic Professor. dr. Esad Duraković

Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Professor dr. Senadin Lavić

Univerzity Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of Bosniak Community Culture Preporod

Professor dr. Kasim Trnka, Professor of constitutional law

University of Sarajevo

Professor dr. Dzemal Najetovic

Unversity of Sarajevo

Profesor dr. Nedžad Mulabegović

President of the Council of the Congress of Bosniak Intellectuals

Professor dr. Omer Ibrahimagic

Unversity of Sarajevo

Academic, Professor dr. Mustafa Ceric

President of the World Bosniak Congress

Academic, Professor dr. Mehmed A. Aksamija

Academic, Professor. dr. Ferid Muhić

President of Bosnian Academy of Arts and Sciences

Professor dr.. Admir Muratovic

Director of the Research Institute of crimes and genocide, University of Novi Pazar, Sandzak, Srbia

Professor dr. Mevlud Dudic

Rector of the International University of Novi Pazar, Srbia

Professor dr. Janja Beć-Neumann,

Univerzity Vienna, Austria, The founder of the first course Heard of war crimes and genocide, the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated 2005

Professor dr. Muris Osmanagić

University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, In the name of the Appeal of the name of the most prominent 220 university professors and public figures

Professor dr. Nijaz Ibrulj

University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Professor dr.Goran Bandov

Univerzity Zagreb, Croatia

Professor dr. Sead Berberovic

Univerzity Zagreb, Croatia

Professor dr. Elvir Musić

Univerzity Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Professor dr. Admir Mulaosmanović

Institute for History, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Professor dr. Fahrudin Novalić

Univerzity Zagreb, Croatia

Professor dr. Šemso Tanković

Univerzity Zagreb, Croatia

Professor dr. Enver Halilovic

Rector, University of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Master Osman Softić

International Relations at the University of UNSW in Sydney, Australia

Amir Ahmic

Bosniak liaison officer at the International Criminal Tribunal for areas of the former Yugoslavia

Master Fatmir Alispahic

Author, writter

Prof. dr. Hariz Halilović

Univerzity Victoria, Australia, Researcher of the Crime of Genocide

Dr. Emir Suljagic

President of the Coalition 1. March

Master Marjan Hajnel

Author, writter, Israel

Nadira Avdic Vllasi

Author

Šaćir Srebrenica

President of the Association of the Concentration-camp Detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cc: H.E. Ambassador Mirsada Colakovic

Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations