Srebrenica Genocide Denial Law Remains a Non-Starter in Bosnia

"The focus is on parliament, which still has enough time to invest additional effort. As we often stress, good domestic solutions are best for this country," she said.

The High Representative has the right to impose the adoption of the Law on the Prohibition of Genocide and War Crimes Denial under the so-called 'Bonn powers' that allow him to push through or veto legislation and to sack officials.

But when asked if Inzko will insist that the law be adopted before the 25th anniversary is commemorated, Radetic declined to answer, saying that she did not want to "speculate on eventual future moves by the High Representative".

Two previous legislative initiatives to prohibit the denial of genocide, the Holocaust and other war crimes have been proposed at the state level over the past decade.

But in both cases, the proposals did not receive the required consent from both Bosnia's political entities, the Bosniak- and Croat-dominated Federation and the Serb-majority Republika Srpska. Both times, opposition from Serb politicians scuppered the initiative.

Meanwhile, revisions and amendments to Bosnia and Herzegovina's criminal code to enable the prosecution of genocide and war crimes denial have been proposed at the state level three times, but have not been adopted either.

In the Federation entity, there is a legal provision prohibiting genocide denial if it incites hatred, division or intolerance, but BIRN was told by prosecutors and experts that the legislation is badly written and not used in practice.

'Established facts are frequently contested'

High Representative Valentin Inzko in Sarajevo in October 2009. Photo: EPA/FEHIM DEMIR.

More than 7,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed by Bosnian...

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