The office of the newly appointed rector of the University of Vienna banned the activities of Professor Manoschek in the scientific teaching process due to the denial of the Genocide in Srebrenica
Falter, an Austrian newspaper, covered the Institute for the Research of Genocide Canada (IGC)’s work on the genocide denial of the Srebrenica Genocide at the University of Vienna in the following article: Srebrenica.
In this article, political scientist Florian Bieber described the genocide-denying report which Walter Manoschek produced for the Bosnian entity RS as “clearly unscientific and tendentious.” and he stated that, as a member of the University of Vienna, Manoschek gives a certain weight to the genocide-denying study. Florian Bieber holds the same view as the IGC that the reputation of the University of Vienna is at risk.
According to this article, the office of the newly appointed rector of the University of Vienna has announced the imposition of a teaching ban on Professor Manoschek due to his published views on the Genocide in Srebrenica.
The fact that Professor Manoschek, who denied genocide, has been prohibited from teaching demonstrates the tangible outcomes of the IGC’s diligent efforts towards preventing genocide.
This statement serves as a public admission that the University of Vienna did, in fact, teach genocide denial. It also exposes the previous Rector Engl’s assertion that there was no such practice at the institution as an abject misrepresentation of the truth.
In addition, this implies that the leading expert on genocide research at the university does not know what genocide is. This represents a major malpractice.
Let us remember that Professor Manoschek was highly appreciated and celebrated by the University of Vienna on more than one occasion (2012 , 2016, 2019 ).
In that period, he publicly discredited international institutions that were prosecuting war crimes, falsified historical facts, and expressed Islamophobic views about Bosniaks by solely reducing them to their religious identity. This is illustrated, for instance, in his 2008 article titled “Crime measured by double standards?”.
Present position of the UV on Professor Manoschek concerns only one report he produced for the Bosnian entity RS and ignores all prior genocide denying material.
Furtheremore, the University of Vienna fails to call the genocide denial by its name. Instead they call it individual opinion of one of its employees, thus, reducing the genocide denial to the matter of opinion. Genocide denial is far more than an opinion, it is an integral part of genocide, it is the final stage of genocide.
Professor Manoschek was paid by the UV to have an expert opinion on genocide. He used the methods he learned at the University of Vienna to form that opinion. Yet, UV literally states that their professor of political science specializing in genocide does not know what genocide is and is therefore prohibited to teach. This calls into question theircredibility as an educational institution, because presently, there is no public statement anywhere on the University’s website distancing the UV from the genocide denial of Professor Manoschek. How will anyone know what is valid and what is not from their entire research? For example, Prof. Manoschek publicly made statements on the on the ARTE TV channel (4:08 min Arte TV) as a representative of the University of Vienna admitting that he wrote a study denying genocide.
The Austrian society as a post-genocide society and the University of Vienna as its leading educational institution had its fair share of experience with the subject of genocide.
Yet again the UV got involved in the Bosnian Genocide and is failling to act in an appropriate and mature way.
In short, UV acknowledged that their expert in genocide research lacks an understanding of the definition of genocide, and they were unable to demonstrate their comprehension of the ramifications of genocide denial. Reducing the genocide denial to the matter of opinion is relativization of genocide denial, thus, genocide denial on its own,
The IGC maintains a stance promoting the freedom of opinion and expression, asserting that differences in opinion should not result in the prohibition of teaching, stressing that the genocide denial is not an opinion but a stage of genocide. University of Vienna should call the Genocide Denial by its name and not relativize it as an individual opinon.
Genocide is a supreme crime because it is a a crime of such magnitude and severity that represents a shock to the conscience of humanity and warrants universal condemnation and punishment and as such it deserves a supreme response by the University of Vienna
and not one-liner response.
In order to disassociate itself from the Bosnian Genocide and take responsibility for its victims, the University of Vienna must publicly disavow Professor Manoschek and issue a public apology.
Emir Ramić
Director of the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada
Esad Sirbegović
Member of the International Expert Team of the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada
