July 20, 2017.
The Right Honourable Justin P. J. Trudeau
Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dear Prime Minister,
Dear Minister of Foreign Affairs,
The president of the entity of Republic of Serbia, Milorad Dodik, must finally be sanctioned for years of anti-Bosnian, anti-European and anti-civilization, with that an anti-Canadian campaign. On behalf of the International Expert Team of the Genocide Research Institute Canada, we are asking Canada to react, sanction and stop the main generator of destruction, as well as its allies from the Republic of Serbia and the entity of Republic of Serbia on the continuous generation of insecurity and anti-state activities in blocking Bosnian, European and NATO integration.
Such behavior is contrary to the fundamental and universal values of human dignity and deserves any condemnation. It is essentially unacceptable and constitutes an insult to any victim or survivor. Such behavior brings discomfort to the public life of Bosnia and Herzegovina, surrounding regions and Europe. Such behavior also entails a riot among Canadian Bosniaks, most of whom are victims of genocide.
Dodik denies genocide and glorifies legally convicted war criminals, threatens to free the entity of Republic of Serbia, organizes anti-government referendums, denies the basic human rights of returnees to the entity of the Republic of Serbia, undermines the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At a public gathering in Bratunac on July 7, he told the Bosniak returnees in Podrinje that they “returned after the war to occupy the Drina again”. Such a dehumanizing statement again offended the surviving victims of genocide. According to Milorad Dodik, the Bosniaks, the Podrinje inhabitants are occupiers, the genocide committed against them is positive, and their return is seen as a re-occupation and should be prevented. Thus, he calls for a new genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is in direct contradiction with Canada’s long-standing efforts for a better future of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This issue revolves around aggressive and dangerous public statement(s) of an official in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the end of the armed offense of aggression and genocide. With this statement, Dodik has humiliated the victims of genocide as well as, jeopardize the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its sovereignty, territorial integrity and political subjectivity. He is also jeopardizing the stability of the region, and Europe and demeaned all the efforts of the Canadian government on a better future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Younger generations who not have their own experience around the time period of the genocide may fall victims to Dodik’s hate speech, and manipulation on the grounds of ideology, or become supporters of genocide with a chance to repeat the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Keeping in mind the above, we invite you to respond with concrete and decisive measures to these serious threats to the peace and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to prohibiting Dodik entry into Canada and sanctioning any of its property in Canada, and putting him and his political party on the blacklist in Canada. We also call on Canada, as a member of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to urge all members to urgently advertise these dangerous nationalist threats.
Bearing in mind that at the gathering where Dodik pronounced the anti-civilization threats as mentioned above, Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin and the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stanimir Vukicevic, were present, and that they have not yet announced and condemned Dodik’s hate speech. We find it useful for peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, that Canada propose to EU members that, in the process of opening new chapters for the negotiations on the accession of the Republic of Serbia into the European Union, sets a condition that this country must recognize the decisions of international tribunals on genocide in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not to negotiate with those who deny the decisions of international courts, because if one does not respect these decisions then how are they to respect any other European standard.
Canada, as one of the leaders in the world in the field of human rights and freedom through Parliament decisions, has politically recognized the genocide in Srebrenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina and sets political precedence in protecting the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina from those such as, Dodik, who wish to undermine and ignore these decisions. Canada has an historic duty to implement all democratic means to oppose the denial of genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and strongly condemn the continuity of hatred by Dodik and his companions.
With respect.
Professor Emir Ramic
Chairman of the Institute for Research of Genocide, Canada