RESOLUTION CONDEMNING REVIVAL OF IDEOLOGY OF NDH AND DENIAL OF GENOCIDE AGAINST SERBS ADOPTED

BANJA LUKA, MARCH 17 /SRNA/ - The National Assembly of Republika Srpska unanimously adopted a Resolution proposed by the parliamentary majority condemning and deeming unacceptable ideological relativization and the revival of the ideology of the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/, as well as the denial and minimization of the genocide against Serbs.

All 68 present MPs voted in favor of the resolution. The agreed resolution also contains two conclusions proposed by the Caucus of the Serbian Democratic Party /SDS/. By the first conclusion, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska instructs the Government of Republika Srpska to draft, within 60 days, and submit to the parliamentary procedure amendments to the Law on Cemeteries and Funeral Services, which would legally regulate the removal of monuments and symbols that promote and glorify the ideology of the NDH and the Ustasha, Nazi, and fascist ideologies that offend the religious, moral, and national sentiments of the Serbian people. By the second conclusion, the National Assembly instructs the Government to submit for consideration an amendment to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska within the same period, which would introduce a new criminal offense sanctioning individuals who, through means of public communication, in a public place, or in any other way publicly promote, glorify, support, or encourage the positive evaluation or acceptance of Ustashism and the Ustasha ideology of the NDH. Members of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH from Republika Srpska are instructed to propose and support this resolution in identical wording. The agreed Resolution on the condemnation and prohibition of promoting and glorifying the ideology and symbols of the NDH and of the Ustasha, Nazi, and fascist ideologies and symbols condemns the glorification and celebration of criminal ideas stemming from the context of World War II, the genocide against Serbs in the NDH, the Holocaust, and Samudaripen. It was noted with concern and condemnation that in the surroundings of Republika Srpska, in recent times, there has been a public revival of the ideology, symbols, and slogans of the NDH, such as the NDH flag with the first white field on the checkerboard, the Ustasha symbol “U”, the salute “Za dom spremni!”/For the Homeland Ready/, and the insignia of the “Handschar Division.” Particularly condemned are the increasingly frequent manifestations of Serbophobia and antagonism toward Serbs, as well as anti-Semitism and other extreme forms of group prejudice and intolerance. Such forms of spreading ideas based on racial or ethnic superiority fall into the category of phenomena that states are obliged to condemn, prohibit, and sanction in accordance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The proposed Resolution states that the suffering of the Serbian people during the wars of the 1990s was, to a large extent, the result of the revival of ideologies and practices based on the genocidal policy carried out against Serbs in the NDH. It condemns and prohibits any form of glorification and promotion of the ideology and symbols of the NDH and of the Ustasha, Nazi, and fascist ideologies and symbols, as well as the organizations, authorities, and prominent figures associated with them, including but not limited to initiatives to erect monuments and memorials, naming streets, public institutions, or places after members of those movements, holding public events where they are glorified or saluted, and the use of symbols, insignia, and greetings associated with those ideologies. The proposed Resolution calls on the competent institutions to take appropriate measures, in accordance with applicable legislation and international obligations, to prevent the financing of organizations and movements that promote the ideology and symbols of the NDH and the Ustasha, Nazi, and fascist ideologies and symbols, to sanction and punish public incitement to racial, ethnic, or religious hatred, as well as to prevent public gatherings where these ideologies are glorified, their symbols and slogans displayed, and their greetings used. All religious organizations, democratic political actors, and public institutions are also called upon to clearly and unequivocally condemn any ideology based on racial supremacy, ethnic and religious hatred, or negative and falsifying historical revisionism, and to refrain from political or any other form of public cooperation with individuals, organizations, and movements that promote such ideas. The resolution points to the importance of educating young people about the dangers of ideologies based on racial, religious, and ethnic hatred. It particularly condemns the spread of Ustasha propaganda and other forms of ideological or religious fanaticism through the internet and digital platforms, which especially affects children and youth, and calls on the competent institutions to initiate procedures to remove such content from the internet and digital platforms. The Government of Republika Srpska is tasked with preparing and submitting to the parliamentary procedure a proposal for amendments and supplements to the relevant regulations that would clearly and unequivocally criminalize the promotion and glorification of the ideology and symbols of the NDH, as well as of Ustasha, Nazi, and fascist ideologies and symbols, and provide for appropriate sanctions and penalties. The competent institutions are called upon to establish a legal framework based on which all existing symbols of the NDH and of Ustaša, Nazi, and fascist ideology will be removed in Republika Srpska, the proposed Resolution concludes. The Speaker of the Republika Srpska National Assembly, Nenad Stevandić, closed the special session.