Response to interpellation 2023/24:560 on the Swedish ambassador's visit to Srebrenica
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M argues that the ambassador's visit to Srebrenica was intended to honor the victims of the genocide by laying flowers 1 2. The government considers all actions that deny the genocide to be deeply offensive and that accountability is a priority 1 2. M emphasizes that the ambassador, in accordance with their mandate, met with elected representatives to promote peace and reconciliation 2. M wants to continue nurturing the good bilateral relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina and promote the country's EU rapprochement 3 4. S considers it remarkable to visit a genocide denier and simultaneously lay flowers for the victims on the same day 5. S argues that the visit was interpreted as the ambassador downplaying the victims 5. S expresses concern that the government is cooperating with a xenophobic party 6. S asks how the Foreign Minister will work to highlight the genocide in Srebrenica 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Mr. Speaker! Azra Muranovic has asked me if I have had contact with Sweden's ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Helena Lagerlöf, regarding the intention of the ambassador's visit to Srebrenica on February 6. Azra Muranovic has also asked me what I mean by my answer that Ambassador Lagerlöf, during her visit, honored the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica, as well as how I and the government will work to repair the relations with the Bosniak ethnic group in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Sweden if the relations have been damaged by the visit.
I want to begin by expressing my deepest sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the genocide, the survivors, relatives, and friends. It has been established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, and the International Court of Justice, ICJ, that what happened in Srebrenica in July 1995 is classified as genocide. As I have mentioned before, it is also the government's firm view that all actions and statements that downplay or deny the genocide are deeply distressing and cannot be tolerated. The work of accountability for international crimes is a priority for the government.
As I mentioned in my response to a previous parliamentary question regarding Ambassador Helena Lagerlöf's visit to Srebrenica, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is in close contact with our foreign missions and heads of agencies, including the ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina. I have personally been in contact with her after the incident.
The Ambassador's clear intention with the visit was to honor the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica. She did this, among other things, by laying flowers at the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potočari. In the meeting with the elected mayor, emphasizing the elected officials' responsibility to work for peace and reconciliation is another way to honor the victims of the genocide. It is about marking Sweden's clear view on the matter and contributing to a better, more tolerant future for everyone in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I have good and regular contact with my Bosnian foreign minister colleague Elmedin Konakovic. We last met in connection with the security conference in Munich on February 16-17 this year, when I once again expressed appreciation for the long-standing and very good bilateral relationship between our countries, including the strong people-to-people ties. This is a relationship that I and the government intend to continue to nurture and deepen.
The genocide in Srebrenica must never be forgotten or downplayed. It is important to have an active effort to honor the victims, contribute to reconciliation, and give a clear message to future generations.
Azra Muranovic (S)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the answer.
Since 1993, Srebrenica was a safe zone under UN protection, but it turned out that this did not mean sufficient protection against the attacking Bosnian Serb army. During a few days in July 1995, Srebrenica became an arena for a large-scale genocide, the first in Europe since the Holocaust. Over 8,300 men and young boys - I believe the minimum age was 13 - were systematically murdered over just over a week.
The world failed to protect the civilians. Instead, all civilians were left to their fate, even though several UN troops were actually on site in Bosnia. In addition to the Dutch battalion, the Nordic battalion was also in Tuzla. I know that refugees were taken care of, but one was actually on site not at all far from the area where this took place for over a week.
This was a betrayal without equal. It became very clear that there is a difference between civilians and civilians, even though we are all Europeans. "Never again," we said after the Holocaust – but the civilian population in Rwanda was left alone. And after the rest of the world saw how the genocide in Rwanda spread like wildfire, one still chose to leave even the civilian population in Srebrenica alone, without the ability to protect or defend themselves.
It is therefore incredibly remarkable to choose to visit the mayor of Srebrenica, Mladen Grujicic, who is an outspoken denier of the genocide in Srebrenica. He does not only deny the genocide; this is a person who also calls the International Criminal Court a farce and does not recognize its right to judge in the matter regarding the Serbian people. To visit him and at the same time squeeze in a visit to the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potočari to lay flowers, I find to be very remarkable.
That our Swedish ambassadors should have a good diplomatic relation and open dialogues with everyone is a matter of course, but to choose to make a visit to a genocide denier and later the same day lay flowers for the victims of that same genocide is very remarkable. It was not interpreted as the ambassador going and meeting Mladen Grujicic to put her foot down, but it was interpreted as her diminishing the victims in Srebrenica.
I still do not understand why it was chosen to schedule the two visits on the same day. Do you not understand the gravity of visiting a mayor who glorifies genocide and simultaneously denies it, regardless of whether this person is elected or not, and on the same day visiting the memorial site for the victims? I do not understand it. I would very much like to have an explanation.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Mr. Speaker! As I said initially: When it comes to the question of the genocide itself, it is self-evident that the government's firm opinion is that all actions and statements that downplay or deny the genocide are deeply distressing. It can never be tolerated. The work with accountability for international crimes is therefore a priority for the government.
As I also mentioned earlier, Ambassador Helena Lagerlöf visited Srebrenica to honor the memory of the victims of the genocide. That was the stated intention of the visit, and she did so, among other things, by laying flowers at the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potočari.
Like previous Swedish ambassadors and other EU ambassadors, she also met other actors, including the elected mayor. This is something that Swedish ambassadors have repeatedly done in connection with their visits to Srebrenica, even under previous governments. On these occasions, Swedish ambassadors have also been allowed to meet survivors, relatives, and employees at the Srebrenica Memorial Center, and I hope that this arrangement can be resumed.
Furthermore, Ambassador Lagerlöf was clear during the meeting with the mayor that the purpose of her visit was to honor the victims of the genocide. She also emphasized the elected representatives' responsibility to work for peace and reconciliation - a work that must continue in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sweden's active work for peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina includes keeping open channels of communication with all parties as far as possible, just as Azra Muranovic just said. It is important that diplomats have contacts and that one works in many different channels simultaneously. The Ambassador's actions were therefore in accordance with her mandate, which involves speaking with both representatives of civil society and organizations as well as elected representatives. That is why we have diplomats; that is why we have ambassadors.
It is obviously regrettable that the visit is misunderstood to aim at something other than honoring the memory of the victims.
Azra Muranovic (S)
Mr. Speaker! Of course, an ambassador should make visits and have an open dialogue and contact. What is worrying, regrettable, and noteworthy in this case is that she chooses to visit them within the short time span of a day. The core of the issue is not that she has visited Mladen Grujicic, but that she chooses to do so in this manner. This is a deeply worrying signal, which has spread throughout the Bosnian diaspora in Sweden.
It is also worrying that the Foreign Minister sits in a government that is in the hands of a party with an expressed anti-immigrant stance with roots in Nazism. It is difficult to believe that the government is leading the way in many issues, including foreign affairs. The Sweden Democrats have, as is known, worked diligently to worsen the dialogue with countries with a large Muslim population, and they have, through their encouragement of Quran burnings, contributed to raising the level of terror threat in Sweden. Now they can no longer hold back rhetorically and point out Muslims as a threat to society – and I want the Foreign Minister to note that they point out Muslims, not Islamists, as a threat to society.
I come, as you know, from Bosnia. The genocide in Srebrenica is very familiar to me, as are the genocide-like atrocities in my hometown Prijedor and in Sanski Most, Novo Sarajevo, and Novi Grad. When the war was ongoing, people actually said "we are dealing with the Muslims before they kill us." It was a preemptive genocide.
Just yesterday during the Prime Minister's question period, a Sverigedemokratisk member just said when he spoke about Muslims: They want to kill us. To my delight, the Prime Minister replied. But it is extremely worrying that the Foreign Minister and the Swedish government choose this company despite gross and dangerous statements. And when I see that Sweden's ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina kills two birds with one stone by visiting both genocide deniers and genocide victims, I at least pull my ears back, and I believe that many who witnessed this also pull their ears back.
I wonder how the Minister for Foreign Affairs will act within his area and how he intends to influence the Riksdag and the government to work with the relationship with the Bosniaks in both Sweden and Bosnia.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Mr. Speaker! My and the Government's commitment to the Western Balkans is great. Among other things, the Minister of State Jessika Roswall and I visited all countries in the Western Balkans during the Swedish EU Presidency last year. I then had the opportunity to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Minister Roswall visited the country as recently as last week. It is clear that these countries' rapprochement with the EU and anchoring in European cooperation constitute an important lever for their necessary reform work and also an investment in our common security and development. The Government therefore welcomes the European Council's decision to initiate accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, something that I have advocated for.
At the same time, the reform work must obviously continue, and it is particularly urgent regarding the principles of the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights, as well as regarding measures against corruption and organized crime. In addition to that comes what is the subject of today's interpellation debate, namely the question of peace and reconciliation and that it constitutes a prerequisite for Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU rapprochement.
We have a long-standing and very good bilateral relationship between Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it has been characterized by strong inter-people ties, just as Azra Muranovic has pointed out in her remarks. The large Bosnian diaspora in Sweden is a driving force in this relationship, and it also contributes greatly to Swedish society. I assume that no one questions this.
I have good and regular contact with my Bosnian foreign minister colleague Elmedin Konakovic and am continuously building a good, positive and trusting relationship with him. At our meetings, including the one in Munich recently, I have always expressed appreciation for the long-standing and good bilateral relationship between our countries, including the strong inter-people relationship that exists. This good bilateral relationship includes a long-term and comprehensive development cooperation aimed at contributing to Bosnia and Herzegovina's EU rapprochement. We have a growing trade exchange, where the diaspora is a driving factor, and a strong inter-people relationship with all parts of Bosnian society. This is a relationship that I and the government will continue to nurture and deepen.
I also look forward to a close cooperation with Bosnia and Herzegovina's new ambassador to Sweden, Bojan Sosic, whom I met when he took office in December.
Azra Muranovic (S)
Mr. Speaker! I conclude with a further couple of questions. How will the Minister for Foreign Affairs work to highlight the genocide in Srebrenica, which is still relatively unknown among many groups in Sweden and Europe? How will the Minister for Foreign Affairs act within his area to highlight the genocide in Srebrenica, which is the first since the Holocaust? I hope we do not get a third.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Mr. Speaker! I thank the member for a good interpellation debate that has truly highlighted and illustrated how important it is that we continuously work to bring forward the genocide in Srebrenica, something that the government will do. I may not quite share the interpellant's view that this would be forgotten. I believe few events have appeared as horrific in modern Europe's history as the genocide in Srebrenica, and significant attention has been directed towards this over the years, which is good because the very conditions that led up to this genocide were so horrific. I am referring to the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, the violence that claimed so many civilian casualties, and of course the circumstance that the Serbian minority set out to exterminate this Bosniak group, just as the interpellation has highlighted.
I am always ready to speak about the events in Srebrenica in those contexts where it is relevant, and we will, of course, based on what I have just spoken about, that is, our inter-ethnic relations with Bosnia, never forget this. But the most important and most pressing thing now is that the memory of the genocide in Srebrenica must also lead forward toward a reconciliation and improvement of the conditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina so that one can finally put this behind them and look toward the future and the EU rapprochement that I have just told about and which is currently the government's most important priority in the relationship with this country.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.