Hatred against Bosniaks in the Serbian world

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia writes:

Due to a series of new incidents glorifying genocide and war criminals with songs and graffiti, and threatening Bosniaks with a new massacre, tensions and fear in Priboj and among Bosniaks in Sandžak are growing. Even on Christmas Eve, dozens of young men shouted disturbing threats with torches in front of the mosque, “It’s Christmas, it’s Christmas, shoot the mosques.” The intensive campaign – which has been going on for months and whose threatening slogans include “From Priboj to The Hague, everyone stands with General Ratko, “Ratko Mladic – Hero”, murals depicting Ratko Mladic, and messages of hatred on social networks – has created an intolerant atmosphere in which Bosniaks are not welcome in that territory and in Serbia.

The state’s reaction to these incidents is mild or more often non-existent, particularly to those committed by police officers.

Various theories stigmatizing Sandžak are circulating across government-controlled media, because it is perceived as a disputed territory that could be the cause of new instabilities. Sandžak is considered an important point on the so-called “green transversal” and as a path for terrorists, which was the foundation of propaganda for the preparation of war and crimes against Bosniaks. Incidents have become more frequent in Sandžak, because it is being treated as the last offensive against the “green transversal” and represents an attempt to finalize ethnic cleansing.

The escalation of Serbian nationalism in both Serbia and the Republika Srpska is reviving Bosniak fears and uncertainty regarding their future. The growth of Islamophobia and the constant fixation on Islamic extremism serves to justify the demands for the secession of the Republika Srpska and the increased pressure on Bosniaks and their marginalization in Sandžak.

Despite the state’s obvious neglect of this region, Bosniaks have in previous decades invested a considerable level of good will in maintaining good neighborly relations between Serbs and Bosniaks.

The Helsinki Committee and the Sandžak Committee for Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms believe that the state is obliged to take concrete steps to ensure the security of all citizens equally, and that it has an obligation to engage in establishing the trust of Bosniaks in competent state bodies.

The Helsinki and Sandžak human rights committees also expect international actors to pay attention to the events in Sandžak before it is too late, because an intensive implementation of the “Serbian World” project is currently underway.