Troll of the Month: The Radio Television of Republika Srpska

The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region.

July 11th marks the International Day of Commemoration of the Genocide in Srebrenica – the systematic killing of more than 8 thousand Bosniak men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica between July 11 and July 22, 1995. The genocide occurred during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina that lasted from 1992 to 1995.

In May this year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution sponsored by Germany and Rwanda, to designate July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide. This Resolution also served to condemn any denial of the genocide as a historical event and called on ‘Member States to preserve the established facts, including through their educational systems, towards preventing denial and distortion, and any occurrence of genocide in the future’. Alongside this, the Assembly also requested that the Secretary-General establish an outreach program on the Srebrenica genocide in preparation for the 30th Anniversary.

Within Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 2021 the High Representative Valentin Inzko at the time, used his power to amend the country’s criminal code to ban the denial of genocide and glorification of war criminals. The new ban outlaws ‘the public denial, condoning, trivialisation or justification of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes when this is done in a way that is” likely to incite violence or hatred”.’ Those who choose to break this ban could face a prison sentence ranging from six months to five years.

This year, on the International Day of Commemoration of the Genocide in Srebrenica, some media in Republika Srpska (including prominent Nezavisne novine and the public service Radio Television of Republika Srpska) relativised the genocide in their media reports, calling it a “crime against Bosniaks”.  Refusing to use the term ‘genocide’ and instead calling it a ‘crime’ is extremely problematic, particularly by the media, as it minimises the systematic and intentional nature of the atrocities. This mislabeling can also perpetuate a narrative that downplays the suffering of victims and hinders justice and accountability for the perpetrators.

Furthermore, RTRS additionally portrayed Bosniaks in a negative light – a technique used to deepen the division. In their article about the commemoration, they wrote that Serb councillors in the Srebrenica municipal assembly observed a minute’s silence to honour all the innocent victims of Srebrenica. The article claimed that the Bosniaks boycotted the commemorative session, as they had done in previous years.

Creating this divide between various communities within the country, especially on a day marking a horrific event in Bosniak history, is extremely insensitive and problematic. One cannot dictate how another group commemorates their tragic past. Such narratives only deepen divisions, foster blame, and exacerbate existing tensions, particularly in a region where denial of these events persists.

Although it is true that the media has been revitalising the Srebrenica genocide in previous years, this year is specific due to the UN resolution which was adopted in May. Genocide denial in the Balkans is still very much prevalent and a consistent pattern especially heightened around the time of the commemoration. This year, the tensions have been rising since the discussion on the UN resolution began, culminating in its adoption and resulting in various politicians and members of the public denying the genocide took place and refusing to name it as such.

Genocide denial is profoundly hateful, harmful, and insulting to both the victims and their families. Narratives of denial must be confronted and removed to accept and acknowledge the past.  The media has a critical responsibility to avoid perpetuating genocide denial or causing divisions within heterogenous ethno-religious communities like Bosnia, as such actions undermine social cohesion and hinder reconciliation efforts.