Legitimizing Heresy through Law
In the heart of Europe, a troubling commemoration persists. On May 18, Croatia observed a remembrance day that honors the memory of those killed in Bleiburg in 1945 – a group that included members of the Ustasha movement, a Nazi collaborationist faction during WWII. Established by law, this memorial day controversially depicts Ustasha as fighters for Croatia’s freedom and independence. Such a narrative not only distorts historical facts but dishonors the memory of the victims of Ustasha atrocities. Additionally, it affirms values contrary to the country’s Constitution and fails to align with international standards on memorialization and the EU politics of memory.
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Why are illiberal monuments legally possible? Some insights from Bosnia and Herzegovina
After unveiling a monument to the genocide denier Peter Handke a few years ago, local authorities in Banja Luka – the largest city of Bosnia’s Serb-dominated Republika Srpska entity – are now building a massive monument to the soldiers of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) who died in the war of 1992–95. The memorial site in Banja Luka is not the first dedicated to the VRS. On the contrary, it follows the example of other towns and municipalities in the Serb-dominated areas. Together, they form an illiberal politics of remembrance developed by Bosnia, and especially Republika Srpska, since the end of the war in the 1990s. This memory politics is marked by the denial of war atrocities and the glorification of war criminals. The ongoing construction of the monument in Banja Luka shows that, almost thirty years after the conflict, there is a need to establish a new and comprehensive legal framework for memorialization in Bosnia. In essence, memorialization should be aligned with human rights and enable the development of a democratic culture. To achieve this twofold goal, constitutional and legislative reforms are needed.
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