We are reviewing the current situation in the part of Bosnia and Herzegovina which has been temporary occupied due to the systematic genocide and there is a clear conclusion to be drawn. The new political leaders in the Republika Srpska use any legal and illegal efforts and actions at their disposal to spread the Orthodox religious characteristics over the occupied territory. They are settling Serbs from other areas in the region and building new communities from the ground up with all their discriminatory, totalitarian, acculturative, immoral and the St. Sava ideas and concepts of society. Thus we urge for action and consolidates voices and interests of all victims and witnesses of aggression and genocide. We also aligned our efforts with the organizations for the protection of human rights and freedoms.

A declaration that designates the ninth day of January as a Day of Remembrance and the official start of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina

1. The idea and concept of Greater Serbia and its nationalism is still alive. Although the idea was defeated during World War II, when it served as a political program of the Chetnik movement under Draža Mihajlović and its government in exile in London. The program was sadly supported by some Allies during the Second World War. The idea of Greater neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the systematic ethnic cleasing and genocide over Bosniaks.

2. On the ninth day of January, 1992, the act of aggression started on the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Swiftly, Serbian nationalists dismantled the constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and discarded all applicable laws of the sovereign and independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They introduced an illegal parliament and proclaimed a newly formed territory as “Srpska Republika, Bosne i Hercegovine”. With this act, the Bosnian Serbs affirmed their alliance with the idea of Greater Serbia and served as an extension of the political will of Serbia and their willingness to dominate Bosnia and Herzegovina. Soon after these events unfolded, the gears of aggression started. Dramatic changes started to be implemented on the ground with the idea to deny and oppress an independent state by eliminating and taking over cultural heritage, personal freedom, natural resources, and infrastructure. Moreover, the concentration camps of death were opened around Bosnia and Herzegovina in which many Bosniaks were kept, humiliated, raped, and murdered. The remaining Bosniaks were expelled from the illegally established “Srpska Republika” and its territories where they have been working and living for centuries. In the process, Bosniaks were stripped of all their belongings that were either stolen or destroyed.

3. On the ninth day of January in 1992, a genocidal entity of “Srpska Republika” was established on the territory of the sovereign and independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a day that is remembered in Republika Srpska and it should be aligned with the International Criminal Court in Den Haag’s decision in 2007 in which it proclaimed that genocide was committed by the police and military powers of the entity of Republika Srpska. By this decision the high court delegitimized Republika Srpska because it was established by genocide and legitimized the rights and power of the victims and witnesses of the aggression and genocide. Therefore, the ninth day of January can be used as a remembrance day of the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

4. The International Criminal Court in the case of “Krstić” and the International Justice Court in the case of “Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Serbia and Montenegro”, on February 26th, 2007, concluded that genocide occurred on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which all high institutions of the Republika Srpska have been involved. Thus, the Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada invited the Congress of North American Bosniaks along with other organizations and have decided that on the ninth of January, the organizations will get together in an academically aspired environment and talk, discuss, share, and plan how to raise awareness among the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as the international community.

5. Therefore, we invite all patriotic organizations and associations in diaspora as well as back home to take on this initiative. The truth is our biggest asset, and the truth is that Bosnia and Herzegovina was attacked, genocide was committed on Bosniaks and that these crimes were committed by Republika Srpska, which was established on the ninth of January. That is the reason why Bosniaks will intensify our actions and observe every ninth of January to talk about aggression and genocide. Bosniaks must be deeply involved on this matter due to its historical, scientific based, and court enacted contexts.

6. We emphasize and proclaim the ninth January as a day of truth and the beginning of aggression on Bosniaks. The truth is Bosnia’s and the Bosniaks’ biggest asset. We will never forget the aggression and genocide committed on Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens in the name of a made up Serb Republic.