The Government of Republika Srpska has been tasked with introducing an entirely new criminal offense through amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska.
AUTHOR: Aleksandar Stojanović
The Resolution condemning and banning the promotion and glorification of the ideology and symbols of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), as well as Ustasha, Nazi, and fascist ideologies and symbols, has officially been published in the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska, thereby formally entering into force as an official document adopted by the National Assembly.
The act formally defines the current institutional framework for the protection of the culture of remembrance, while simultaneously establishing concrete and binding obligations for the executive authorities.
The text of the Resolution explicitly states that genocide was committed against the Serb people in the NDH with the aim of their complete extermination. The document also directly addresses the historical context of post-war Yugoslavia, arguing that, for ideological reasons, there was no full investigation or condemnation of those crimes at the time, which it describes as a direct cause of the resurgence of neo-Ustasha and neo-Nazi phenomena at the end of the twentieth century.
Accordingly, the document explicitly condemns and bans the public use of symbols associated with these movements, including the NDH flag with the first white field on the checkerboard emblem, the Ustasha letter “U,” the salute “Za dom spremni,” as well as insignia of the “Handžar” Division. The ban is broadly defined and applies to the erection of monuments, naming of public institutions and streets, organization of events, and the dissemination of propaganda through the internet and digital platforms.
The adopted text also obliges representatives from Republika Srpska in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina to propose and support this resolution in identical form at the joint state level.
The accompanying conclusions, which form an integral part of the published document, transfer responsibility for implementation to the Government of Republika Srpska, which has been given a 60-day deadline to prepare and submit several amendments to existing legislation into parliamentary procedure.
The Government has been tasked with amending the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska in order to establish an entirely new criminal offense that would clearly criminalize and sanction any individual who promotes or glorifies Ustasha ideology through media, public spaces, or public gatherings.
Within the same two-month period, the Government must also prepare amendments to the Law on Cemeteries and Funeral Activities in order to legally regulate and enable the removal of monuments and memorials that promote fascist ideologies and offend national sentiments.
Finally, the competent institutions are required to establish a comprehensive legal framework that would enable the complete removal of all remaining fascist and Ustasha symbols from public spaces throughout Republika Srpska. With the publication of the Resolution in the Official Gazette, the deadlines for drafting these legislative solutions have officially begun.
Source: Provjereno
