March 20, 2023
To all members of the Parliament of Canada
To all Ministers in the Government of Canada
Re: –
Respected members of Parliament
Respected members of the government
We write urgently regarding the scheduled screenings of the film, “Republika Srpksa: Struggle for Freedom.” The film, ostensibly labeled as a documentary, is in fact a revisionist propaganda movie that negates the genocide and ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The film has been denounced worldwide by non-profit organizations and community leaders, and screenings of the film has been cancelled at multiple venues throughout Europe. However, the film is now scheduled to be screened throughout Canada. Over 35,000 individuals have already signed a petition protesting the screenings, and we respectfully urge you to take immediate action to condemn and cancel the screenings in your community.
Between 1992 and 1995, Bosnian Serb forces, in the name of Republika Srpska (RS), committed the largest campaign of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Europe since World War II. Over 100,000 individuals were killed, and countless others were raped, maimed or held prisoner in concentration camps the likes of which Europe had not seen since the Holocaust. In one incident alone, over 8,000 Muslim boys and men were slaughtered in and around Srebrenica in what is widely recognized as one of the worst acts of genocide in modern history. Furthermore, millions of individuals were forced to flee their homes as refugees due to the deliberate acts of ethnic cleansing committed by Serb forces. There is no dispute that RS was founded on ultra-nationalistic ambitions and ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs. Indeed, the International Court of Justice in The Hague has convicted numerous Bosnian Serb leaders of war crimes. Moreover, to this day the leaders of RS continue to deny the war crimes and genocide in Srebrenica, despite the international community’s consensus on this issue, as well as international court rulings and various independent reports.
“Republika Srpksa: Struggle for Freedom,” directed and produced by Serbian Canadian filmmaker Boris Malagurski, presents a historical revisionism of the atrocities committed in Bosnia and Hercegovina and misleadingly re-characterizes the violent founding of RS as a well-meaning struggle for freedom. In doing so, the film humiliates the victims of the war crimes, many of whom personally experienced these crimes and came to this country as refugees. Unfortunately, this type of nationalistic revisionism is part of an international rise in nationalism that threatens the foundations of democracy and truth.
For these reasons, we urge that you take immediate action to condemn and cancel the promotion of this film.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Dr. Emir Ramić
Director of the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada
