Institute for Research of Genocide (IRGC), the Congress of North American Bosniaks (CNAB) and Bosnian American Institute for Genocide and Education (BAGI) inform the public that following the Canadian authorities denial of entry to Srdja, the ultranationalist Serbian propaganda began a smear campaign of attacks on these organizations. Using lies and Goebbels like propaganda they intend to specifically deceive the public with false and preposterous accusations that the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada denies the Holocaust, and to defame the IRGC chairman Professor Emir Ramic and other members of the expert team from the Institute. On the contrary, facts show that Serbia was the first to use gas vans during the Second World War in Nazi Europe to kill Jewish civilians so that Belgrade and Serbia would be cleared of Jews. Serbia has never faced its Nazi collaborationist past nor rejected fascism as an ideology, which is the main reason for the violent developments in the nineties where Serbian followers of ultranationalist ideology caused four wars in the Balkans and are directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of innocent human lives, millions displaced, and mass destruction of historical monuments, infrastructure and entire settlements. Serbian ultranationalist propaganda false claims are based on completely fabricated facts. Unfortunately, until Serbia recognizes and accept the facts of its infamous and troubled past, the process of reconciliation and progress towards a sustainable future together with mutual respect in the region will continue to stagnate.
We have always believed and will continue believe that the denial of the Holocaust, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against civilians, are criminal acts of hate speech. The main objective of the Serbian ultranationalist extremist propaganda campaign is an attempt to stop the IRGC, CNAB, and BAGI from educating the public on the truth about the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and genocide against non-Serbs in Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Kosovo, and another attempt by Serbian propagandist to give international legitimacy to the aggression and the goals of the “Greater Serbia” project.
We invite all organizations and individuals to oppose Serbian extremist propaganda by presenting evidence and truth to the public. Unfortunately, a strong Serbian extremist lobby in Canada and the U.S. is trying to distort facts, mislead the public, and utilize a media smear campaign of fear in order to dubiously justify the actions of perpetrators of genocide in Bosnia and elsewhere in the Balkans. Serbian aggressors in the Balkans were first to dig up mass graves, burn the bodies, trying to cover up the evidence by intimidating witnesses, and are now actively spreading lies about the activities of our organization and any other organization that speaks out against them. Genocide deniers refute the facts that Serbia was led by a war criminal and a certified terrorist Slobodan Milosevic, with the help of its partners in crime in Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and Kosovo. They also continue to deny that Serbs committed any crimes, and often blame the victims for what happened during the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, and Slovenia. It is worth noting that Bosnian Serb war time leader Radovan Karadzic, is currently in The Hague before the International Tribunal for genocide and war crimes committed against civilians in Bosnia, and that Ratko Mladic, Bosnian Serb general, also a war criminal, is still hiding in Serbia 15 years after the end of the war in Bosnia. Our institutions will continue the activities of opposing all those who deny genocide and war crimes with the ultimate goal of preserving the truth about crimes committed against Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens and the peoples of Bosnia and win justice for the victims of these crimes. At the same time we will continue activities for the victory of truth and justice toward all other nations and countries that are in any way endangered and at risk of genocide.
IRGC, CNAB, BAGI have informed the relevant U.S. and Canadian authorities, as well as authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the alarming attacks and threats that were received against our organizations.
Haris Alibasic, MPA, President
Congress of North American Bosniaks
www.bosniak.org
Prof. Emir Ramic, Chairman
Institute for Genocide Research Canada
http://www.instituteforgenocide.ca/
Sanja Seferovic-Drnovsek J.D, MEd, Chair
Bosnian American Institute for Genocide and Education (BAGI)
www.baginst.org