Is this possible, I repeated aloud to myself as I returned the recording. It is a crime, not genocide, the Minister of Justice bargained with more than two-thirds of the population of Montenegro in the parliamentary market.
And the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina in general. And with at least 180 countries of the world, including the biggest ones that not only Srebrenica but also Sarajevo and the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina carry in their hearts.
Well, states have no soul, I was thinking of the statesmen who led them a quarter of a century ago. They didn't participate in the genocide, but they knew what was going on and - they didn't react...
All of us from the Balkans knew, CNN broadcast both live and in reruns, how the "zone under the protection of the United Nations" was turning into a collection center for the mass extermination of Bosniaks.
The St. Peter's Day video, in which Ratko Mladić hands out chocolates to children in Potočari, went around the world. Don't be afraid, he told one of them stroking his head, everything will be fine.
And nothing was wrong, the boy's father was taken to his death. At that time, the operation began, during which about eight thousand men were executed, and nearly forty thousand women, children and the elderly were deported.
Only in 2004 will the operation get its official name - genocide (Greek genos - genus, people and Latin accidere - to kill). Thus, in 1946, the United Nations christened the international crime of intentional total or partial destruction of national, ethnic, racial and religious groups, the goal of which is physical extermination.
Whoever reads it as it is written will know that the fact that the extermination was carried out partially does not mean that there was no genocide in Srebrenica.
* * *
- Are you ready to admit and accept that a genocide took place in Srebrenica - one Andrija Nikolić asked his student while they were discussing politics in a cafe.
- I am - should have answered Vladimir Leposavić, scholarship holder of the "Robert Šuman" Foundation, winner of the Fulbright Prize and human rights specialist who received his doctorate in the international protection of minorities.
Andrija Nikolić, a member of parliament, is formally in his second term. Before entering the Parliament, he worked for that party for two more in TV Jusovac. He was only six years old in 1991 and could not have known that Depees was leading Montenegro into a war of occupation against Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and was pursuing a policy that would lead to the genocide in Srebrenica. It is now 2021, he is in the legislature and he is obliged to know everything about that war. Despite this, he was tasked by his party to provoke and manipulate...
- Are you, as the Minister of Justice who is also in charge of the field of human and minority rights, ready to admit and accept that genocide took place in Srebrenica - asked MP Andrija Nikolić in the Parliament of Montenegro.
- I am - the minister in the Government of Montenegro Vladimir Leposavic had to say. Or that he immediately resigns, leaves the session and continues to argue with that first Andrija about the difference between a war crime and genocide, how the evidence from Kosovo disappeared, who prevents him from talking about the crimes against his people and what is the difference between agreements and resolutions...
He didn't say! Nor did he resign.
Instead of standing behind the international obligations of the country whose minister he is, regardless of the motives of the deputies, he stepped on a land mine.
And then, instead of stopping and waiting for help, he tried to save himself by leading all of Montenegro into a minefield.
* * *
- It is not up to the Minister of Justice, nor any other individual who did not participate in a 'critical event' such as this one, to admit or not admit... - the minister tried his best not to fall behind in the manipulation.
Of course it's up to him. None of the European ministers of justice participated in the "critical events" of the killing of Jews, so they do not recognize the Holocaust, but condemn it as often as if it happened eight years ago, not eighty...
Ambassador Robert Weber is separated from the Holocaust by many more years than Minister Leposavic from the genocide, but he faced the guilt of his country.
- Only by admitting guilt can the door to a better future be opened for forgiveness and reconciliation. In order to be able to shape your own future freely and unencumbered, you should not deceive yourself - he tried first pedagogically, based on the German experience.
The sequel, in order for us to understand it well, adapted it to a divided country such as ours:
- You have to admit the truth to yourself, admit guilt - don't deny it. This creates a basis for reconciliation with neighbors, but also for healing cracks in one's own society. You are all called to recognize the truth and to seek and facilitate reconciliation, in order to pave the way for a better future.
Thank you, we don't need a future like yours, the minister had a ready answer even before the ambassador spoke.
* * *
- I am ready to recognize the crime of genocide, when it is unequivocally established - he stepped after the mine and on decisions supported by at least 180 countries of the world.
It was established that it could not be more unequivocally back in 2004. The International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia ruled that "the crime committed against the male inhabitants of the enclave constitutes genocide".
It was confirmed by the International Court of Justice in 2007, when it ruled that "the forcible transfer and abuse of between 25.000 and 30.000 Bosniak women, children and the elderly constitutes genocide, together with the murders and separation of men that took place in Srebrenica in 1995".
- Neither personally nor as a public official did I deny the crime of genocide in Srebrenica - he tried to withdraw three days later.
And passed like a gambler who kills himself by extracting. Killing all the victims of the genocide once again. And hope for the reconciliation of all ethnic communities in Montenegro.
From the announcement that he is "ready to admit... when it is determined" it is more than clear that the minister (still) refuses to admit that the genocide took place at all. Let alone accepting the guilt of his country, which at the time of the genocide was called FRY.
When she was sentenced to be "guilty of not doing anything to prevent the genocide", she was divided into two countries and the verdict was delivered to Serbia.
- Considering Milošević's observations addressed to Mladić, which clearly state that he was aware of the dangers, it must have been clear that there was a significant risk that genocide would be committed in Srebrenica. The authorities of the responsible party did nothing to prevent the Srebrenica massacre, claiming that they were helpless, which does not correspond to the well-known influence they had over the Army of Republika Srpska - the International Court of Justice explained its verdict.
Djebana in weapons, oil, money and manpower from Montenegro was not mentioned. But not because it wasn't there in fraternally equal amounts, but because Serbia became the successor of the FRY.
* * *
This is how our country saved itself from the International Court of Justice. It can't do it by itself.
If the problem was only Minister Leposavic, it would be easy to solve it in the Government or the Assembly. Unfortunately - it's not, it's much more complicated to solve with one resignation or dismissal.
Thanks to the monstrous lies during the so-called war for peace, as well as the post-war manipulations of the former government, at least a third of the inhabitants still believe that a crime was committed in Srebrenica like all the others in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And he was not the same, neither in terms of the goal nor in terms of the consequences.
The goal was the division of that country, that decision was made by Slobodan Milošević and Franjo Tuđman, not Alija Izetbegović. And it was not passed during the war, but on March 25, 1991 in Karađorđevo.
Srebrenica is the most morbid consequence of that agreement.
That all the inhabitants of Montenegro in 91 chose to believe their own eyes, and not the three "young, beautiful and smart leaders" and their great leader, the entire Balkans would look different today, not just BiH.
And others wanted war? Possibly, but only the JNA could effectively fulfill that wish, and it belonged to Serbia and Montenegro. Or her, it depends on the angle of view...
* * *
From what point of view Minister Leposavic looks at all of us, it is best for him to explain himself:
- Every lawyer and even an educated person knows that only the perpetrator can confess to a criminal act, especially genocide. Asking any person, even a minister, to confess to a criminal offense in which he was not, nor could he have participated, represents only an evil intention!
Is this possible, I'm fed up with this weirdness even to myself, but what am I going to do... I really should have had the cheek to have a doctor of law, who is much more educated than Iole, utter two sentences like this.
No one is asking him, he knows it very well, to blame himself for the genocide. But only to admit and accept that the genocide in Srebrenica did happen.
He also knows that Willy Brandt was not the manager of the Warsaw Ghetto, nor the "perpetrator" of the Holocaust. But he was, not to mention statesmanship, a man. And sympathized with the victims killed by the Nazi policies of his country.
That's why he never said to those who, not once but for a full 25 years, asked him about the Holocaust that the question "represents evil intent." He went to the Warsaw Ghetto, laid a wreath on the monument to the victims, bowed his head and - knelt on the wet granite.
He knelt like a sinner, relying on Christian motives - it was described at the time - one who had always been against the Nazis begged for forgiveness...
And Brant wrote in his memoirs:
- Over the abyss of German history, under the burden of millions killed, I did what people usually do when language fails...
PS I know it's not appropriate, one is Vili Brant, but... It's a pity that last Friday, Minister Vladimir Leposavic didn't have the language...
Bonus video:
