In the Serb-majority Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a new educational curriculum will teach elementary students about the roles of Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, referring to them as leaders in a “defensive war of liberation.”
The curriculum omits their war crimes convictions, including life sentences for genocide and other crimes by the UN tribunal in The Hague. The lessons focus exclusively on their political and military achievements, presenting them as heroes without addressing their criminal accountability.
This revision has sparked significant controversy, particularly from international bodies. The United States Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina responded to the curriculum change in a statement to the news outlet N1 condemning the act as a politicization of education.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) also weighed in on the issue, criticizing the unilateral development and introduction of nationalistic narratives about the 1990s war, which it said threatens critical reforms in history teaching.
The Bosnian War was characterized by competing nationalist agendas, with Bosnian Serbs seeking to create a Greater Serbia. Crimes that took place include ethnic cleansing, mass atrocities, and genocide, most notably the Srebrenica massacre.
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