On the same day that Helena Lagerlöf was to honor the victims of the Srebrenica massacre, she met the mayor Mladen Grujičić, who denies the genocide.
Photo:
2016 photo of Srebrenica mayor Mladen Grujičić.
Photo: Amel Emric / TT NEWS AGENCY
Even though Helena Lagerlöf got the nod from the director of the memorial center, she chose to visit the memorial center on Tuesday.
Photo:
Helena Lagerlöf and Zukan Helez, Minister of Defense in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Photo:
The meeting with Srebrenica mayor Mladen Grujičić took place on Tuesday, the same day she was to honor the victims of the Srebrenica massacre at the city’s memorial center.
According to the Bosnian newspaper Istraga, which describes the incident as a “scandal”, Mladen Grujičić is an “extreme” Serbian nationalist and an open denier of the genocide.
The director of the memorial center in Srebrenica, Emir Suljagić, is said to have canceled the planned meeting with Helena Lagerlöf at the memorial center due to her decision.
– It is not possible to visit the memorial center and at the same time meet Grujičić during the same day, says director Emir Suljagić to Istraga.
– Anyone who wants to normalize his politics and behavior is free to do so, but I will not participate in it. And if they think they can blackmail us with money or donations, forget it. We have received exactly zero marks (no money, editor’s note) from Sweden.
The genocide in Srebrenica
It was on July 11, 1995 that Srebrenica was captured by the Bosnian Serb army, allied with Serbia and Christians.
The majority of the city belonged to the Muslim part of the population.
From the day the army entered and ten days later, over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were executed, who were then buried in mass graves.
It is the worst genocide in Europe since World War II.
Show more
Visited the memorial center anyway
As early as Monday, several officials at the memorial center should have said that they did not wish to meet the Swedish ambassador if she carried out the meeting with Mladen Grujičić, writes Radio Slobodna Evropa.
Despite the fact that Helena Lagerlöf was given the nod by the director of the memorial center, she chose to visit the memorial center on Tuesday, which the Swedish embassy in Bosnia-Herzegovina showed in a post on X.
– Today I visited Srebrenica. I showed respect and honored the memory of the victims of the genocide. At meetings with the authorities, I urged politicians to take their responsibility to promote reconciliation, peace and respect, says Helena Lagerlöf in a statement according to the embassy.
Helena Lagerlöf was appointed ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina on 6 July last year and assumed the position in August. She has previously served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm and as a National Expert at the European Commission in Brussels.
The answer: “Short courtesy visit”
Helena Lagerlöf, who chooses to answer Expressen’s questions in an email, writes that she, like previous Swedish ambassadors, met “other actors”, which included the popularly elected mayor.
“The head of the memory center has not objected to this on previous occasions,” she writes.
She calls the visit with Mladen Grujičić a “short courtesy visit”.
“I was clear at the meeting that the purpose of my visit was to honor the victims of the genocide and emphasized the responsibility of the elected officials to work for peace and reconciliation. Just like other EU colleagues, I visit elected representatives when we move in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, writes Helena Lagerlöf.
She regrets that the visit with the director of the memory center was cancelled.
“It would have been valuable to learn more from him about what happened and about the memory center’s activities,” she writes.
Do you understand that your decision is causing reactions in the country?
“Given the often-present contradictions that exist in this country, there is much that stirs up emotions, so I can certainly understand that,” she concludes.
Helena Lagerlöf’s answer to Expressen
You met the mayor of Srebrenica, Mladen Grujičić, who is an outspoken denier of the genocide, on the same day you were to honor the victims of the genocide. Why did you do it?
“I visited Srebrenica today to honor the memory of the victims of the genocide that took place in 1995. Like previous Swedish ambassadors and other EU ambassadors, I also met other actors including the popularly elected mayor. The head of the memory center has not objected to this on previous occasions”.
Why did you want to meet Mladen Grujičić?
“It was a short courtesy visit to the popularly elected mayor when I was on site in Srebrenica. I was clear at the meeting that the purpose of my visit was to honor the victims of the genocide and emphasized the responsibility of the elected officials to work for peace and reconciliation. Just like other EU colleagues, I visit elected representatives when we move in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
The director of the memorial center in Srebrenica, Emir Suljagić, is said to have canceled the meeting with you at the memorial center. Why did you go there anyway?
“The purpose of my visit to the city was to honor the victims of Srebrenica, which I also did. I obviously regret that the meeting with the director of the Suljagic Memorial Center could not take place. It would have been valuable to learn more from him about what happened and about the memory center’s activities”.
What do you say about the criticism leveled at you?
“Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country with many open wounds from the war and strong contradictions between different ethnic groups. Sweden’s policy is to, as far as possible, keep open channels for communication with the various groups as a way of contributing to reconciliation”.
Do you understand that your decision is causing reactions in the country?
“Given the often-present contradictions that exist in this country, there is a lot that stirs up emotions, so of course I can understand that”.
Show more