DW | Serbia local elections: Can the opposition break through?

dw.com

Serbia local elections: Can the opposition break through?

Sanja Kljajic

8–10 minutes

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A few solitary election billboards and stands are the only indications that local elections are taking place this weekend in the city of Novi Sad in northern Serbia. The scene is similar in the southern Serbian city of Nis, where residents say they cannot recall such a quiet election campaign.

Nevertheless, public sentiment suggests that the opposition may have a chance of defeating the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of President Aleksandar Vucic in both cities.

"I believe the expectations are partially justified," Dusko Radosavljevic, a political scientist from Novi Sad, told DW. "In these major centers in Serbia, the opposition has to a certain extent united and become visible. But even if the opposition itself is not highly visible, the negative effects of the current harmful government are."

Dusko Spasojevic, a political scientist from Belgrade, shares this view but says that it is hard to make predictions because there is less enthusiasm now than there was in the run-up to the parliamentary election on December 17.

Serbian voters go to the polls on Sunday to elect representatives to 88 local assembliesImage: Jelena Djukic Pejic/DW

"It seems that there is hope for the opposition parties, primarily based on the results of the parliamentary elections, which serve as a good indicator," he told DW, pointing to the fact that the opposition list came first in most polling stations in Novi Sad. "What is particularly interesting is that for the first time in quite a while, we have open and competitive elections, which might draw out voters who have not participated before."

Recent election irregularities

The upcoming local elections are taking place after months of opposition efforts to highlight irregularities in both the national parliamentary and Belgrade local elections last December.

Several election observers concluded that these elections were neither free nor fair. The Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), an independent, non-partisan civil society organization, stated in its final report that "The spectrum of severe threats to voters' and candidates' rights includes unscrupulous pressure on citizens, manipulation of the voter registry, forgery of support signatures for nominated lists, misuse of citizens' personal data, and the falsification of the election results publication date in the Official Gazette to prevent the opposition from utilizing the legal deadline for submitting complaints to the Constitutional Court."

Thousands of people gathered in Belgrade last December to protest what election observers said were widespread irregularities in the country's general election. The banner here reads 'We don't agree' Image: Darko Vojinovic/AP/picture alliance

These findings were backed up by the final report of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

. This led the European Parliament to call for an international investigation.

Electoral law amendments since December

Although no international investigation was ever launched, the reports of irregularities led to negotiations on electoral conditions between the government and the opposition. As a result, electoral law was amended to prevent the organized practice of temporarily moving voters' registered addresses to other constituencies to influence election results.

"This is a step in the right direction, but it's certainly not enough," Radomir Lazovic of the opposition Green-Left Front told DW. "A Voters' Register Commission needs to be established, and the media's approach to the opposition must change."

Opposition split

Because the opposition's demands were not fully met, the once-united opposition had to decide whether to participate in the elections at all. The debate led to a split in the opposition Serbia Against Violence alliance. One side formed a new group, I Choose to Fight, which will run in all local elections. The other side opted for a boycott.

President Aleksandar Vucic (pictured in the center of this election campaign poster) will hold a large SNS rally in the Serbian city of Nis on the final day of the local election campaignImage: Ivan Djerkovic/DW

"It seems that while the united opposition was pushing for changes in electoral conditions, the pressure on the government was greater, and there were indications that progress could be made," said Lazovic, who is part of the I Choose to Fight group. "But after part of the opposition decided to boycott the elections, this pressure decreased, and the government now feels less compelled to make further concessions."

"For us, participating in the elections is a surrender, playing the game on their terms, and that's the main disagreement," said Marinika Tepic, vice president of the Party of Freedom and Justice, which opted for a boycott.

While this boycott primarily relates to the re-run of last December's local election in Belgrade, all local branches of these parties are allowed to decide for themselves whether to participate in the elections.

Opposition confident in Novi Sad

The broadest opposition coalition was formed in Novi Sad, uniting 12 parties and movements. They believe that despite all the irregularities, they can defeat the ruling SNS.

"I think it's naive for our colleagues in Novi Sad to believe they can win under these conditions," said Tepic. "They won't win; they will face a reprise of December 17, or an even worse result."

Miran Pogacar of the United for a Free Novi Sad alliance disagrees: "We expect Novi Sad to be the first truly free city in Serbia. But a victory in Novi Sad is a victory for all of Serbia, and we hope the same will happen in other cities, like Nis, where there is a real possibility for change, to initiate changes across the country."

Igor Novakovic of the Socialist Party of Serbia, which is in coalition with the SNS, is confident that the ruling parties will emerge strongest from the upcoming election in NisImage: Jelena Djukic Pejic/DW

There is the possibility of change in smaller towns as well, but some feel that these elections will be a repeat of what happened in December. In the town of Bac near Novi Sad, for example, local leaders were filmed unloading aid packages, which the opposition assumes contains basic foodstuffs and claims will be distributed in Bac before the elections in an attempt to buy votes for the ruling SNS.

Voter turnout will be key

A quiet campaign and heated debate over the boycott have overshadowed discussions about party policies and programs. Political scientist Dusko Spasojevic believes this could mean that some voters will stay at home on Sunday. "I think this debate has really confused the Serbia Against Violence voters, and it remains to be seen how they will react," he said.

Adding to the confusion, he said, is the makeup of some of the coalitions and uncertainty among voters about where the opposition is boycotting the elections and where it isn't.

To make matters worse, citizen group lists have appeared with names similar to opposition lists in numerous municipalities. "The aim of these phantom lists is to further confuse voters, and I believe that in all this confusion, some votes will be cast in error," said Spasojevic.

While the opposition is pinning its hopes on high voter turnout, the ruling SNS is leaving nothing to chance: President Aleksandar Vucic will hold a large SNS rally in Nis on the final day of the campaign.

Is this an indication that the SNS is rattled and fears losing? Igor Novakovic of the Socialist Party of Serbia, which is in coalition with the SNS, is confident that there will be no surprises. And if there are, he claims it will only be the citizens of Nis who will suffer.

"The opposition's proposals depend on the government of the Republic of Serbia, because the city doesn't have the money to finance them. And what will happen if the opposition wins in Nis while the Serbian government remains in power for the next four years? How will Nis develop without alignment between the city and the national government? I'm not threatening or trying to scare anyone, but that's the electoral and political system," he said.

Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan

 

Aleksandar Raković: Serbia and the Republic of Srpska: Is a Common Future Possible.?

valdaiclub.com

Serbia and the Republic of Srpska: Is a Common Future Possible.?

Aleksandar Raković

8–11 minutes

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If Serbia had joined the anti-Russian sanctions, it would have lost Russia as an ally in international forums. Apart from Russia, no one else would have so strongly represented the just views of the Serbian people regarding the Western occupation of Kosovo and Metohija and Bosnia and Herzegovina as an imprisoned Western protectorate or even a colony. Russia has influence on the countries of the free world, which do not accept Euro-Atlantic hegemony.

After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Western pressure on the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Srpska and all Serbian people on the territory of the former Yugoslavia increased. The fact that the Republic of Serbia has not imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation has contributed especially to renewed Western political violence against Serbia. Serbs have been put at risk because the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska have refused to align themselves with the Western policy against Russia.

At this moment, the political West worked in a coordinated manner on two tracks: to accept so-called independent Kosovo into the Council of Europe and to adopt a resolution in the General Assembly of the United Nations on the so-called Srebrenica genocide, in order to place collective guilt on the Orthodox Christian Serbs. If the Serbian people were to be stigmatized as genocidal, it would open the door to the process of abolishing the Republic of Srpska, as well as further hijacking the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija from the Republic of Serbia.

In both cases, Berlin, Brussels, London and Washington play the alleged card of support for the Muslim population in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but only in order to throw dust in the eyes of Muslims around the world. Namely, at the same time, the politicians of the West provide support to Israel in its war against the Muslim population in Gaza. Therefore, the West wants to divide Orthodox Christians and Muslims, to impose collective guilt on the Serbian people, and to establish Western dominance over others by sowing the seed of discord within the United Nations. 

The West needs more occupied territories, more protectorates, more colonies. While Kosovo and Metohija is occupied by NATO, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Western protectorate which looks more and more like a modern colony. Westerners gave the so-called High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina the right to replace and punish political figures, as well as to impose laws and decisions that would harm the local population. Serbs and Croats are openly arguing for the abolition of this Western stick of power. At the same time Russia and China don't recognise the so-called High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The majority of Bosniak Muslims have assented to being a Western tool. Bosniak leaders believe that it allows them to preserve the favour of the Euro-Atlantic imperialists amid a time of increased Western Islamophobia. Also, Bosniak politicians, as subjects of the West, see a chance to establish Bosniak hegemony over the Serbs and Croats in the imposed protectorate of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Asia and Eurasia

Russians no longer have any illusion that a unified Europe can be created from Iceland to Kamchatka. That certainly wonʼt happen. The post-Christian West sees neither cooperation nor brotherhood with Orthodox Christians or Muslims.  

Opinions

However, when it is not possible to remove Western chains in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because Sarajevo will not do it, then Serbs should focus on ways to free the Republic of Srpska from an unnecessary burden. The Serbian people, as a mature and state-building nation, should make the decision regarding the future of the Republic of Srpska. Therefore, the Republic of Srpska, in exercising its right to self-determination, would find a way to freedom, a way that would permanently remove the chains. It would be helpful for all three ethnicities within Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croats see that, but the Bosniaks don't.

The regular state for the Serbian people is the one that was established in 1918, when and where the Serbs unified into one country. However, time and events have shown that the Serbian unification within a Yugoslav framework was not good. Thus, any Serbian reunification must be only within a pan-Serbian framework.

The destruction of the Yugoslav state – the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1991/1992) and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (2006) – imposed boundaries within the united and indivisible Serbian nation. The Serbian people must not accept such borders. Therefore, Serbs should interpret the current situation as an irregular state and consider solutions that would lead to re-establishment of a regular state.

The national interest of the Serbian people should be the unification of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska into a single state. That state could be called the Federal Republic of Serbia; it would consist of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska. Montenegro would also logically have a place within the reunified Serbian state – in accordance with the vision of Montenegrin Metropolitan Petar II Petrović Njegoš – published in his pan-Serbian ethnic Bible – "of Serbia the whole, from the Danube River to the deep blue sea"  . Therefore, there is a solution for each Serbian state to preserve its institutions within the common all-Serbian state. 

This common future for Serbia, the Republic of Srpska as well as Montenegro is possible. It would arrive and would be based on a new and righteous world order. The contours of that world order we already see. It depends on the success of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. 

It is important to mention that the Serbian people link a righteous solution to the reintegration of Odessa into the Russian Federation and the establishment of a Russian border on the Danube. In that case, Russia and Serbia would be connected by the Danube as an international waterway.

Finally, the question arises whether the latest Western attacks on the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska in the Council of Europe and the United Nations would have happened if Serbia had imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation and joined the orchestrated anti-Russian hysteria. Of course, the same attacks would happen, because the West has to justify its aggression and destruction of Yugoslavia. Also, the German political elite wants to impose a genocidal stigma on someone else at any cost, in order to amnesty Germany for the genocide it committed in the Second World War. Germany decided that the stigma of collective guilt should be placed on the Serbian people.

If Serbia had joined the anti-Russian sanctions, it would have lost Russia as an ally in international forums. Apart from Russia, no one else would have so strongly represented the just views of the Serbian people regarding the Western occupation of Kosovo and Metohija and Bosnia and Herzegovina as an imprisoned Western protectorate or even a colony. Russia has influence on the countries of the free world, which do not accept Euro-Atlantic hegemony.

Norms and Values

Aleksandar Raković

Almost the entire Serbian population, throughout the former Yugoslavia, has taken a pro-Russian position. In the internal political struggle of Serbia and the Republic of Srpska, there is no Russophobic sentiment at all, even within the ranks of pro-Western parties, writes Aleksandar Raković.

Opinions

Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

 

b92.net

For them, he is "awesome machine", for us, the greatest son of Serbia; Incredible success of Vučić in New York

Novosti

10–13 minutes

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Even Zlatko Lagumdžija acknowledged Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for his energy and strength in the fight against the Resolution on Srebrenica.

The Permanent Representative of Sarajevo to the UN admitted to FTV that he had never in his life faced an opponent or, as he stated more precisely, an "awesome machine", which invested so much energy and strength to reduce the influence of the main sponsors, co-sponsors and other Euro-Atlantic allies.

Also, some stated that Aleksandar Vučić is an "awesome machine", but, as it was published on social networks, for the Serbian people he is "one of its greatest sons. With his feat in New York, Vučić wrote the proudest pages of our history".

In addition, Lagumdžija also referred to the move of President Vučić, who draped himself in the Serbian tricolor in the middle of the UN General Assembly, and as he said, this had never been seen before.

President Vučić sacrificed himself for his people and country. We are not interested in how the "awesome machine" Vučić will end up in the history of those he defeated, because what is important is that he will end up in Serbian history as one of its greatest sons, according to Novosti.

 

inman.com

Kushner project on site of NATO bombings in Serbia draws protest

by Ben Verde May 17, 2024 SHARE

3–4 minutes

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At Inman Connect Las Vegas, July 30-Aug. 1 2024, the noise and misinformation will be banished, all your big questions will be answered, and new business opportunities will be revealed. Join us.

A planned real estate development in Serbia by Jared Kushner's company has drawn opposition from local groups, according to news reports.

The Serbian government signed a deal with a Kushner-affiliated development company earlier this week that will allow them to redevelop the former headquarters of the Serbian army in Belgrade, which was destroyed by a United States-led NATO bombing campaign in 1999, the Associated Press reported. The planned development will feature a high-rise hotel, a luxury apartment complex, office spaces and shops.

"The economic progress in Serbia over the past decade has been impressive," the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump said in a statement. "This development will further elevate Belgrade into the premier international destination it is becoming."

While the government has cheered on the deal, opposition groups have spoken out against it, as have members of the general public. Many see the bombed-out former army headquarters as a symbol of Serbian resistance to "NATO aggression," according to the Associated Press. 

Among the opposition groups is Ecological Uprising, the leader of which, Aleksandar Jovanović, said  "will use all means, including physical" to prevent the demolition of the former army headquarters and the handover of the site to an American company.

"The moment the first bulldozers appear, we will be waiting for them," Jovanović said at a press conference, according to the AP.

Jovanović called on members of the Serbian public to join him in the blockade, especially members of the Serbian Armed Forces, and "all those who have the courage to defend the old General Staff and not allow this crime to happen."

Government officials have defended the deal and framed it as part of the reinvigoration of Belgrade.

"We will restore the building 25 years after it was destroyed in the bombing," construction minister Goran Vesić said, according to the AP. "For a quarter of a century, no one, before this Government, had thought to rebuild the complex. When this space is revitalized, it will contribute to the development of Belgrade and Serbia."

A memorial to the NATO bombings will be built at the site, financed by the developer, according to the report.

The Serbian project is one of multiple foreign real estate deals Kushner has pursued in recent months, which have raised eyebrows due to his father-in-law's presidential candidacy and Kushner's former role in the Trump White House. In addition to the Serbian project, he is also seeking to develop several hotels and hundreds of villas on the Zvërnec peninsula in Albania.

Email Ben Verde

 

The Spectator’s : Why Serbia is becoming China’s best friend in Europe

thespectator.com

Why Serbia is becoming China's best friend in Europe

Tatyana Kekic

4–5 minutes

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In a statement published Tuesday in Serbia's leading daily newspaper Politika, Xi said that China's friendship with Serbia "is soaked in the shared blood of the two nations." There were rumblings that he would take the opportunity to visit the former embassy, now a China Cultural Center, to pay his respects to the dead and make a political point — that NATO is not a purely defensive alliance, and that China is far stronger now than it was then.

Since Xi's previous visit to Serbia in 2016, relations between the two countries have intensified, with China emerging as Serbia's primary economic partner. China is the single largest investor in Serbia, and its second largest trade partner after the European Union. Last October, the two countries signed a free trade agreement, making Serbia China's first free-trade partner in central and eastern Europe.

Chinese investment in Serbia, which accounts for around a third of the country's total foreign direct investment, is concentrated in mining and manufacturing. Zijin Mining and Serbia Zijin Copper are now the second and third most profitable companies in Serbia. Chinese companies have also been involved in major infrastructure projects in Serbia, such as the Belgrade to Novi Sad high-speed railway and the Miloš the Great highway.

It is obvious why China is an important partner for Serbia — it has invested billions in the country and has been a bulwark against the international recognition of Kosovo at the United Nations. It might be less clear, however, why Serbia is important for China. China's trade with Serbia is less than one-fortieth of its trade with Germany — and yet it has chosen to visit Belgrade not Berlin.

For China, Serbia is a rare friend in Europe, and one which shares its worldview. Both countries sacralize state sovereignty and territorial integrity in international law. While China has always opposed Kosovo's independence, Vučić has been clear on his position on Taiwan. "Taiwan is China. And it's up to you, what, when, how you're going to do it," he said in a recent interview. 

China also sees Serbia as a gateway to Europe. As an EU candidate state, Serbia could become a conduit through which China could enter the European market. And by occupying a strategic position in the western Balkans, Serbia plays an important role in China's Belt and Road Initiative, connecting the Greek port of Piraeus, run by China's Cosco Shipping, to Hungary in the north.

Serbia's courting of China does raise questions about Belgrade's commitment to EU accession. But after waiting to join the EU for more than two decades, Serbia has little to lose here. The sluggish accession talks and constant moving targets mean Serbia has been forced to look elsewhere to develop its economy and increase growth.

As the governor of the National Bank of Serbia recently remarked, "this waiting room is turning into captivity." Instead of waiting around doing nothing, Serbia has "dared to have its own path and to be different." Since 2009, Serbia has pursued a foreign policy which balances its relations between the US, EU, Russia and China.

Much like the former Yugoslavia, Serbia insists on its right to pursue an independent foreign policy. Serbia has refused to distance itself from Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and has continued to seek economic opportunities and diplomatic support from China.

So far this strategy has not served Serbia badly.

Serbia's growth rate is among the highest in Europe (its estimated GDP was 4.6 percent for the first quarter of 2024), and its public debt to GDP ratio is among the lowest (and projected to decline to around 50 percent in 2024). Despite warnings from the EU that Chinese investment would create a debt trap, Serbia's total external debt was only around 65 percent of GDP at the end of 2023.

It is uncertain how long Serbia will be able to keep up its balancing act. The country faces pressure from the EU to impose sanctions on Russia and distance itself from China. Perhaps if the prospect of EU membership were more credible, the country would rethink its international leanings. For now, Serbia's alliance with China is serving it well.

This article was originally published on The Spectator's UK website.

 

spectator.co.uk

Why Belgrade is cosying up to Beijing

Tatyana Kekic

5–6 minutes

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Thousands of Serbs gathered outside the Palace of Serbia today to welcome the Chinese president Xi Jinping, chanting 'China, Serbia'. Addressing the audience, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić thanked Xi for choosing to visit Serbia: 'We are writing history today…[Xi] hasn't come to Europe in five years and he has again chosen our little Serbia.'

The visit has been choreographed to coincide with the 25^th anniversary of Nato's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999. The strike killed three Chinese journalists and sparked mass protests across China. It is an incident China will never forget and has been a constant thorn in Sino-American relations. 

In a statement published yesterday in Serbia's leading daily newspaper Politika, Xi said that China's friendship with Serbia 'is soaked in the shared blood of the two nations'. It is likely that he will take the opportunity to visit the former embassy, now a China Cultural Centre, to pay his respects to the dead and make a political point – that Nato is not a purely defensive alliance, and that China is far stronger now than it was then.

Since Xi's previous visit to Serbia in 2016, relations between the two countries have intensified, with China emerging as Serbia's primary economic partner. China is the single largest investor in Serbia, and its second largest trade partner after the EU. Last October, the two countries signed a free trade agreement, making Serbia China's first free trade partner in central and eastern Europe.

Chinese investment in Serbia, which accounts for around a third of the country's total foreign direct investment, is concentrated in mining and manufacturing. Zijin Mining and Serbia Zijin Copper are now the second and third most profitable companies in Serbia. Chinese companies have also been involved in major infrastructure projects in Serbia, such as the Belgrade to Novi Sad high-speed railway and the Miloš the Great highway.

It is obvious why China is an important partner for Serbia – it has invested billions in the country and has been a bulwark against the international recognition of Kosovo at the UN. It might be less clear, however, why Serbia is important for China. China's trade with Serbia is less than one-fortieth of its trade with Germany, and yet it has chosen to visit Belgrade not Berlin.

For China, Serbia is a rare friend in Europe, and one which shares its worldview. Both countries sacralise state sovereignty and territorial integrity in international law. While China has always opposed Kosovo's independence, Vučić has been clear on his position on Taiwan. 'Taiwan is China. And it's up to you, what, when, how you're going to do it', he said in a recent interview. 

China also sees Serbia as a gateway to Europe. As an EU candidate state, Serbia could become a conduit through which China could enter the European market. And by occupying a strategic position in the western Balkans, Serbia plays an important role in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), connecting the Greek port of Piraeus, run by China's Cosco Shipping, to Hungary in the north.

Serbia's courting of China does raise questions about Belgrade's commitment to EU accession. But after waiting to join the EU for more than two decades, Serbia has little to lose here. The sluggish accession talks and constant moving targets mean Serbia has been forced to look elsewhere to develop its economy and increase growth.

As the governor of the National Bank of Serbia recently remarked, 'this waiting room is turning into captivity.' Instead of waiting around doing nothing, Serbia has 'dared to have its own path and to be different.' Since 2009, Serbia has pursued a foreign policy which balances its relations between the US, EU, Russia and China.

Much like the former Yugoslavia, Serbia insists on its right to pursue an independent foreign policy. Serbia has refused to distance itself from Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and has continued to seek economic opportunities and diplomatic support from China.

So far this strategy has not served Serbia badly.

Serbia's growth rate is amongst the highest in Europe (its estimated GDP was 4.6 per cent for the first quarter of 2024), and its public debt to GDP ratio is amongst the lowest (and projected to decline to around 50 per cent in 2024). Despite warnings from the EU that Chinese investment would create a debt trap, Serbia's total external debt was only around 65 per cent of GDP at the end of 2023.

It is uncertain how long Serbia will be able to keep up its balancing act. The country faces pressure from the EU to impose sanctions on Russia and distance itself from China. Perhaps if the prospect of EU membership were more credible, the country would rethink its international leanings. For now, Serbia's alliance with China is serving it well.

 

timesofisrael.com

'Disgrace to diplomacy': Bosnia accuses Israeli diplomat of genocide denial

By Elana Kirsh and ToI Staff

8–10 minutes

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An Israeli diplomat in the Balkans has set off a firestorm of criticism this week, after telling Russian state media that he did not believe that an infamous 1995 massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys constituted a genocide.

Speaking with the Kremlin-controlled Sputnik news agency, Yahel Vilan, Israel's ambassador to Serbia, stated that calling the mass execution committed by Bosnian Serb troops in the town of Srebrenica a genocide "diminishes the importance of that term, which, in my opinion, should only be used for genocides."

"And Israel was invited to The Hague because of the alleged genocide in Gaza. For me, Srebrenica should not be called genocide," Vilan said, referencing the recent South African motion accusing Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice.

International courts in The Hague have branded the crime in Srebrenica a genocide, Europe's first since World War II. Bosnian Serb top army officers and political leaders also have been convicted of genocide by United Nations judges.

Yahel Vilan (Courtesy)

Vilan's comments came as Bosniak Muslim politicians push for the passage of a draft UN resolution commemorating the genocide. While the measure is supported by a number of European countries and the United States, the diplomat said that he was unsure how Israel would vote on the matter.

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In response, Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković decried Vilan's "shameful statement," arguing that such claims are "not only deeply wrong, but also insulting to the victims and survivors of the genocide in Srebrenica, as well as to all those who hold to truth and justice in the international community."

Reakcija MVP BiH @DinoKonakovic na sramne stavove ambasadora Izraela u Srbiji @AmbassadorVilan:

"U svojstvu ministra vanjskih poslova Bosne i Hercegovine, osjećam dužnost da se oštro suprotstavim sramnoj izjavi ambasadora Izraela u Srbiji @AmbassadorVilan , koji je izjavio da…

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH (@mfa_bih) April 27, 2024

"To remind Ambassador Vilan, the comparison of the Holocaust and the genocide in Srebrenica is not a matter of competition in suffering, but recognition that every victim of crimes against humanity deserves equal honor and justice. Downplaying the crimes in Srebrenica under the guise of 'importance of terminology' is not only intellectually dishonest, but also morally questionable."

Vilan, he continued, is "a disgrace to diplomacy and a human disgrace."

Srebrenica Genocide Memorial director Emir Suljagic — a massacre survivor who has been subjected to a campaign of antisemitic rhetoric for refusing to condemn Israel following October 7 — also condemned Vilan's statement, declaring that the latter "does not speak for the [Jewish] people, and especially not for the victims of the Holocaust."

While "until this moment, Israel fulfilled its international obligations by extraditing those accused of genocide at the request of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina," its ambassador's statement "crosses a red line," he continued, adding that "there is no Holocaust memorial today that questions the genocide in Srebrenica."

Suljagic was joined in his opprobrium by senior leaders of Bosnia's Jewish community.

Speaking by phone from Sarajevo, Jakob Finci, president of the Bosnian Jewish community, argued that Vilan had made things harder for his constituents.

Jakob Finci, head of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Jewish community, in his Sarajevo office. (Anne Joseph/Times of Israel)

Many Bosniaks are already against Israel because of the war in Gaza and denying that Srebrenica is a massacre only exacerbates such tensions, he said, speculating that the ambassador's comments were linked to the conflict.

"They are a bit afraid of the final results of Gaza, that some countries will start a case like South Africa [arguing] that this was genocide in Gaza. So it's better to keep to the other side, to deny any kind of crime [can] be called genocide," he said.

Such an approach could rebound on Israel, added Vladimir Andrle, the president of the Jewish community's La Benevolencija philanthropic organization.

"By denying genocide in Srebrenica we are opening the door for Holocaust deniers to use the same logic and to deny verdicts which determine genocide against Jews and courts which brought those verdicts," he said in a WhatsApp message.

"I do hope that this position is the position of one ambassador [and] not the official stand of [the] State of Israel."

A Bosnian man waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel and in support of Palestinians in Sarajevo, Bosnia, October 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)

Bosnia and Herzegovina remains ethnically divided and politically tense long after the end of the 1992-1995 war. The troubled Balkan nation is seeking European Union membership, but internal divisions — which have been significantly heightened by arguments over the legacy of the conflict — have hampered the effort.

Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik has threatened that Bosnian Serbs, who control about half of Bosnia, would split from the rest of the country if the Srebrenica resolution is passed in the UN General Assembly.

In an effort to enlist Jerusalem's opposition to the measure, Zeljka Cvijanovié, the Serb member of the country's tripartite presidency, wrote directly to Israeli UN envoy Gilad Erdan last month.

In her letter, Cvijanovié argued that the resolution, advanced by Bosniak politicians, stood "in clear violation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's constitutional framework" and its adoption "would cause internal strife in Bosnia and Herzegovina, badly undermining the inter-ethnic reconciliation that is vital to its future."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official with knowledge of the matter told The Times of Israel that "high-level officials from both sides in Bosnia… look forward to seeing how Israel will vote."

"Our vote is very meaningful due to the context of the Holocaust," the official noted, adding that Israel's position on Srebrenica has always been "pretty vague."

"Only two years ago, Israel was the driving force in getting the UN General Assembly to condemn Holocaust denial. And in 2013, Israel did the legally and morally right thing when it extradited a Bosnian Serb accused of participating in the Srebrenica massacre to stand trial in Bosnia," argued Menachem Rosensaft, a Cornell law professor and genocide expert.

Menachem Rosensaft delivering the keynote address at the commemoration marking the 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, July 2023. (Courtesy)

"It would be unconscionable if Israel were now to side with Republika Srpska, Serbia, and most probably Russia in opposing — or even abstaining on — the UNGA resolution," the former World Jewish Congress general counsel said.

"At a moment when Jews and Muslims around the world are drifting farther and farther away from each other, all too often set against one another by political and religious leaders intent on stoking the flames of hatred and paranoia, we must at the very least all come together in according the same respect and dignity to the Bosniak victims of the Srebrenica genocide as we accord to the Jewish victims of the Shoah."

Bosnian and Serb politicians have previously sought to mobilize Israeli politicians and scholars as part of the battle over the legacy of Srebrenica — with former Bosnian foreign minister Bisera Turkovic in 2021 explicitly calling on then-foreign minister Yair Lapid to intervene in a domestic battle over genocide denial legislation.

The following year, Lapid, then prime minister, ordered an Israeli diplomat reprimanded for involving himself in a contentious Bosnian domestic political debate over electoral reform.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.