Jedno od najvažnijih područja djelovanja Radne grupe za Bosnu i Hercegovinu od njenog osnivanja je borba protiv poricanja genocida i veličanja ratnih zločinaca. Prema riječima Patricka McCarthyja, Koordinatora Radne grupe, dr. David Pettigrew se ističe kao vodeći glas savjesti grupe. Ovaj intervju započinjem pitanjem o interesovanju dr. Pettigrewa za genocid u BiH i njegovoj motivaciji da radi na borbi protiv poricanja genocida.

David Pettigrew: Teško je sumirati evoluciju mojih veza sa Bosnom i Hercegovinom tokom toliko godina, ali pretpostavljam da je sve počelo 1995. godine kada sam predavao predmet tokom kojeg su moji student, uz moje mentorstvo, radili samostalno istraživanje genocida u Bosni. Moj rad sa studentima se godinama razvijao i tokom tog istraživanja sam sa njima napisao esej, a zatim otputovao u Sarajevo da ga predstavim na konferenciji 2005. Dio ovog istraživanja uključivao je rad sa izvorima koje nazivam „literarni radovi svjedoka genocida.“ To su knjige ljudi koji su svjedočili genocidu, a zatim pisali o njemu, kao i zapisivali svoja promišljanja o tome kako je ovakva vrsta svjedočenja utjecala na njih lično. Dakle, moji studenti i ja smo radili sa tom literaturom i onda kada sam otišao u Bosnu, uspio sam se dogovoriti da odem u Srebrenicu sa preživjelim. Još od svog prvog putovanja u BiH, počeo sam uviđati, kao mislim da bi bilo koja druga osoba to doživjela, nevjerovatne nepravde Dejtonskog mirovnog sporazuma i kršenja osnovnih ljudskih prava: poricanje genocida, veličanje ratnih zločinaca, etničke podjele, odvojene škole.

Tokom našeg razgovora, dr. Pettigrew je više puta spomenuo koliko mu je važno to što već tri decenije održava svoja prijateljstva sa ljudima u BiH i koliko je naučio iz tih poznanstava.

David Pettigrew: Ono što me je odmah impresioniralo ili dirnulo su ljudi koji su proživjeli sve ovo, ali čija su srca ostala otvorena sa nadom da će svjedočenje istine o genocidu dovesti do pravde. To su bili Bosanci I Hercegovci od kojih sam toliko naučio i koji su inspirisali sav moj rad. Na primjer, većinu toga što znam o Višegradu, naučio sam od Hikmeta Karčića, Bakire Hasečić, Ehlimane Memišević i mnogih drugih. O Srebrenici i Klotjevcu sam, na primjer, mnogo naučio direktno od preživjelih Hariza Halilovicha, Omera Sulejmanovića i Hasana Nuhanovića sa kojima sam blisko sarađivao na postavci stalne edukativne izložbe u Memorijalnom centru Srebrenica. Također sam godinama bio konstantno inspirisan radom osoblja Memorijalnog centra Srebrenica, među kojima su Amra Begić, Hasan Hasanović, Azir Osmanović i Emir Suljagić. Pratio sam tim za ekshumaciju u Višegradu 2010. Godine, a za tu ekshumaciju sam saznao od Hikmeta Karčića. Izvršena je sanacija brane Bajina Bašta zbog čega je došlo do pada nivoa reke. Bosanski institut za nestale osobe (MPI) i Međunarodna komisija za nestale osobe (ICMP) znali su da će moći pronaći ostatke tijela ljudi koji su ubijeni na mostu i drugdje. Pozvan sam da idem sa timom da prisustvujem ekshumacijama. U to vrijeme sam shvatio do koje mjere se negira genocid u Višegradu. Na tim za ekshumaciju je čak I pucano, a počinioci genocida su veličani u centru grada sa raznoraznim statuama i plakatima.

Potpuno svjestan važnosti očuvanja sjećanja na genocid i druge ratne zločine počinjene u Bosni i Hercegovini, dr. Pettigrew je aktivno učestvovao u brojnim događajima memorijalizacije i aktivnostima na promociji političkog učešća onih koju su preživjeli genocid.

David Pettigrew: Od 2010. radio sam sa Emirom Ramićem u sklopu Instituta za istraživanje genocida Kanada, a od 2013. sa Sanjom Drnovšek, direktoricom Bosansko-američkog instituta za genocide (BAGI), koju je kasnije zamijenila sadašnja direktorica, Ida Sefer. Član sam Upravnog odbora BAGI-a od kada je Sanja bila direktorica, a 2015. godine postao sam član KRUG-a 99 i od njegovih članova sam naučio mnogo toga. Blisko sam surađivao sa Internacionalnim univerzitetom u Sarajevu i sa njima sam organizovao panel na temu restorativne pravde u junu 2019. godine u sklopu međunarodne konferencije u Sarajevu. Tamo sam radio sa profesoricom Enom Kazić i njenim studentima. Zatim sam pozvao profesoricu Kazić i njene kolege da učestvuju na konferenciji na Yaleu (povodom godišnjice Daytona) u decembru 2020. Bila mi je čast raditi sa Satkom Mujagićem na zalaganju za otvaranje spomen obilježje u Omarskoj, a pomogao sam i Mirsadu Cauševiću i Isaku Gašiju pri lektorisanju i pisanju predgovora njihovim knjigama, o Omarskoj i Luki, u Brčkom. Mom radu je u velikoj mjeri doprinijela mudrost koju je Elmina Kulašić – aktivistica koja je kao dijete preživjela Trnopolje – podijelila sa mnom o borbi za istinu i pravdu.

Sjećam se da me je 2012. godine dr. Hariz Halilović ohrabrio da postanem posmatrač na lokalnim izborima u Srebrenici, jer se tada činilo da bi neko ko negira genocid mogao biti izabran za načelnika. U to vrijeme sam upoznao još jednog člana Radne grupe za Bosnu i Hercegovinu — Petera Lippmana — koji je također bio posmatrač. Prije nego što sam postao posmatrač izbora, pisao sam Hillary Clinton o potrebi da se bivšim stanovnicima Srebrenice omogući da glasaju na tim izborima. To je možda bilo jedno od prvih otvorenih pisama koje sam napisao nekom javnom službeniku. Nakon toga, uz poticaj Hikmeta Karčića, pisao sam pisma za zaštitu spomenika na višegradskom groblju i kuće u Pionirskoj ulici, jer im prijeti uništenje. Dakle, za mene je to bio proces rada sa mladim Bosancima i Hercegovcima, koji su bili posvećeni govorenju istine o genocide, kako bi šira javnost bila svjesna toga šta se dogodilo.

U posljednje vrijeme aktivnosti dr. Pettigrewa na borbi protiv poricanja genocida i veličanja ratnih zločinaca u okviru Radne grupe za Bosnu i Hercegovinu uključivale su pisanje niza pisama visokim zvaničnicima, javna predavanja i proteste.

David Pettigrew: Sjećam se da je na početku rada naše grupe veliki dio naše stvarne aktivnosti ubrzo postao fokusiran na uspostavljanje kontakta sa Visokim predstavnikom Valentinom Inzkom, organiziranje niza sastanaka i ohrabrivanje da donese zakon protiv poricanja genocida i veličanja ratnih zločinaca. Održao sam sastanke sa Visokim predstavnikom otprilike godinu dana prije nego što sam se pridružio Radnoj grupi. On je bio veoma pozitivan u radu sa nama sve do trenutka kada je počeo da se sprovodi zakon. Dakle, veliki dio naših ranih napora bio je usmjeren na rad sa Visokim predstavnikom i podršku njegovoj odluci da implementira novi zakon. Napisao sam pismo u ime Radne grupe, 16. aprila 2021., ohrabrujući ga da implementira zakon. O ovom pismu je pisano u bh. medijima. Zatim smo u jesen (25. septembra 2021.) poslali pismo Visokom predstavniku Christianu Schmidtu o potrebi za osnivanje zaštićenih nacionalnih spomen-obilježja. Ovu ideju sam predložio članovima Radne grupe nakon mojih posjeta Barutnom magacinu i Omarskoj u avgustu te godine. I ovo pismo je propraćeno u bh. medijima. 26. februara smo organizovali proteste sa Koalicijom “Djeluj za Bosnu i Hercegovinu” u Washington, DC u znak podrške ujedinjenoj i demokratskoj Bosni, a 6. marta su sličan protest u Bostonu organizirali “New England Friends of Bosnia” kao dio aktivnosti podrške državi Bosni i Hercegovini, održavanih širom sveta. Učestvovao sam 20. marta na sesiji Kruga 99 o strateškom djelovanju međunarodne zajednice kako bi ispunila svoju odgovornost i zaštitila Bosnu i Hercegovinu. Sve ove godine, bila mi je izuzetna čast stajati postojano sa svojim prijateljima i kolegama u borbi za istinu i pravdu u Bosni i Hercegovini.

Dr. David Pettigrew je profesor filozofije i studija holokausta i genocida na državnom Univerzitetu Southern Connecticut, kao i član Upravnog odbora Programa za studije genocida Univerziteta Yale. Član je Upravnog odbora Instituta za genocid u Bosni i Hercegovini i Obrazovnog centra u Chicagu. Pettigrew predaje i piše o genocidu u Bosni i Hercegovini, a njegov članak, “Prekinut mandat: problematično naslijeđe Međunarodnog krivičnog suda za bivšu Jugoslaviju”, je nedavno objavljen u Global Studies Law Review Univerziteta Washington. Tokom svih ovih godina pisao je otvorena pisma Visokom predstavniku i drugim međunarodnim zvaničnicima, kao i kao niz eseja kojim se zalagao za donošenje zakona protiv negiranja genocida i veličanja ratnih zločinaca, te za uspostavljanje zaštićenih nacionalnih spomen-obilježja za žrtve genocida i drugih ratnih zločina.

It has been an honor to stand with my friends and colleagues in the struggle for truth and justice in Bosnia

One of the most important areas of activity of the Working Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina (WG4BiH) since its inception has been fighting genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals. In the words of the Patrick McCarthy, Coordinator of the WG4BiH, Dr. David Pettigrew has emerged as the leading moral voice of the group. I start this interview by asking Dr. Pettigrew about his interest in the Bosnian genocide and his motivation to work on fighting genocide denial.

David Pettigrew: It is hard to summarize the evolution of my connections with Bosnia and Herzegovina over so many years, but I guess it all started in 1995 when I was teaching a class in which the students were doing– with my encouragement– independent research into the genocide in Bosnia. My work with the students had been evolving over the years and through working with them I wrote an essay and then traveled to Sarajevo to present the essay at a conference in 2005. Part of this research involved working with what I call “witness,” books by people who witnessed the genocide and then wrote about it, and also who reflected on how bearing witness impacted them personally. So, my students and I were working on that literature and then when I went to Bosnia, I managed to arrange to go to Srebrenica with a survivor. I began to experience, as you would think anyone would, the incredible injustices of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the human rights violations: the denial of genocide, the glorification of war criminals, the ethnic divisions, the separate schools.

Throughout our conversation, Dr. Pettigrew kept mentioning the importance of his direct connections with the people in BiH and how much he has learned from these interactions.

David Pettigrew: What I immediately became impressed or touched by the people who had lived through all of this, but kept their hearts open to the hope that telling the truth about the genocide would lead to justice. These were Bosnians who I learned so much from and was inspired by. For example, much of what I know about Višegrad, I learned from Hikmet Karčić, Bakira Hasečić, Ehlimana Memišević and many others . I learned a great deal about Srebrenica and Klotjevac, for example, directly from survivors Hariz Halilovich, Omer Sulejmanović, and Hasan Nuhanović with whom I collaborated closely on the completion of the permanent educational exhibit at the Srebrenica Memorial Center. I also have been constantly inspired by the work of the staff at Srebrenica Memorial Center over the years, including Amra Begi ć, Hasan Hasanović, Azir Osmanović and Emir Suljagić. I accompanied the exhumation team to Višegrad in 2010. I had learned about this from Hikmet Karčić. There were repairs to the Bajina Bašta dam that caused the river level to drop. The Bosnian Missing Persons Institute (MPI) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) knew they would be able to find remains of people who’d been killed on the bridge and elsewhere. I was invited to go with the team to witness the exhumations. I also learned about the level of genocide denial in Višegrad. The exhumation team had been fired upon by a lone gunman. The perpetrators were glorified in the center of the town with statues and posters.

Fully aware of the importance of preserving the memory of the genocide and other war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Pettigrew took active part in numerous memorialization activities and activities to promote political participation of genocide survivors.

David Pettigrew: Since 2010 I worked with Emir Ramić as part of the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada, and from 2013 with Sanja Drnovšek, Director of Bosnian-American Genocide Institute, who was later followed by current director Ida Sefer. I have been a member of the Board of BAGI since Sanja was Director. In 2015, I became a member of KRUG 99 and I have learned a tremendous amount from its members. I have worked closely with Faculty at International University of Sarajevo and organized a panel with them on Restorative Justice in June 2019 as part of an international conference in Sarajevo. I worked there with Professor Ena Kazic and her students. Then I invited Professor Kazić and her colleagues to participate in a conference at Yale (on the anniversary of Dayton) in December 2020. I was honored to work with Satko Mujagić to advocate for a memorial at Omarska, and also assisted Mirsad Caušević and Isak Gaši with their books, respectively, about Omarska and Luka, in Brčko, by helping with the editing and writing Forewords. I have always benefited from the wisdom that Elmina Kulašić — an activist who survived Trnopolje as a child–has shared with me about the struggle for truth and justice.

I remember in 2012 I was encouraged by Dr. Hariz Halilovich to become an observer for the local elections in Srebrenica, because it looked like someone who denied the genocide could be elected mayor. It was during that time that I had met another member of the Working Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina — Peter Lippman– who was also an observer. Prior to being an observer I wrote to Hillary Clinton about the need to allow former residents of Srebrenica to vote in that election. That was maybe one of the first open letters that I wrote to a public official. After that, with Hikmet Kar čić ‘s encouragement, I wrote letters to protect the monument in the Višegrad cemetery and Pionirska Street house; both threatened with destruction. So, for me, it was a process of working with young Bosnians committed to telling the truth about the genocide and raising awareness of what had happened.

Most recently, Dr. Pettigrew’s activities on fighting genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals within the Working Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina has included a series of letters to high-level officials, public lectures, and protests.

David Pettigrew: I remember that in the beginning of our group much of our actual activity soon became focused on reaching out to the High Representative, Valentin Inzko, setting up a series of meetings, and encouraging him to pass the law against genocide denial and the Glorification of war criminals. I had meetings with the High Representative for about a year before I joined the Working Group. He was very positive about working with us right up to the moment of his implementation of the law. So, much of our early efforts was focused on working with the HR and supporting his decision to implement the new law. I wrote a letter on behalf of the Working Group, April 16, 2021 , encouraging him to implement the law. It received extensive coverage in the media. Then in the fall (September 25, 2021) we sent the letter to HR Christian Schmidt about the need for protected national memorial sites. I had proposed this to the group following my visits to Barutni Magacin and Omarska in August. This letter was also covered in the BiH media. On February 26 , we had a protest organized by the coalition “Act for Bosnia and Herzegovina” in Washington DC in support of a united and democratic Bosnia and on March 6 , a similar protest was organized in Boston by the New England Friends of Bosnia as part of actions around the world . On March 20, I participated in the Krug 99 session on strategic action for the international community to fulfil its responsibility and protect Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has been an honor to stand with my friends and colleagues in the struggle for truth and justice in Bosnia.

Dr. David Pettigrew is a Professor of Philosophy and Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Southern Connecticut State University. He serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the Yale University Genocide Studies Program. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Bosnian American Genocide Institute and Education Center in Chicago. Pettigrew lectures and writes about the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His article, “Mandate Interrupted: The Problematic Legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia,” appeared recently in Washington University Global Studies Law Review. Over the years he has written open letters to the High Representative and other international officials, as well as op-ed essays, to advocate for the law against genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals, and for the establishment of protected national memorial sites for the victims of genocide and other war crimes.