The Congress of North American Bosniaks (CNAB) sent letters to US and Canadian officials in the State Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada, as well as to the embassies of these countries in Montenegro and Serbia regarding open attacks on the Bosniak population and threats of a new genocide.
According to the letter, following the recent parliamentary elections in Montenegro on August 30th, initial excitement and celebrations over the election victory of pro-Serb opposition parties have led to chaos and open hostility against Bosniak citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. and members of other minority groups.
Over the past week, numerous cases of physical brutality, open provocations, damage to personal property, and open threats to human lives have been directed at Bosniak citizens, which has increased feelings of insecurity among them.
- Bosniak citizens residing in Montenegro are particularly vulnerable and rightly frightened. The current situation in Montenegro is eerily and strikingly similar to the situation of the early 1990s, which led to events culminating in the ultimate crime against humanity when Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica(Muslim minority) , Bosnia, and Herzegovina. Therefore, it is extremely important to take seriously the threats made to the local Bosniak population in the Montenegrin city of Pljevlja and elsewhere, especially the threats that “Pljevlja will be Srebrenica” if local Bosniaks do not leave their homes and centuries-old homes – says CNAB.
These same threats were premeditated, strategically planned, and systematically implemented in Pljevlja and elsewhere in Montenegro, as well as throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s, which are now recognized and identified as initial steps in committing war crimes and genocide.
- Although we currently live in the US and Canada of which we are citizens, many of us have close relatives throughout the region. We, therefore, urge the US and Canadian governments to closely monitor developments in Montenegro and to put pressure on the current and future Montenegrin governments to ensure the peace, security, and safety of the Bosniak community and all minority groups, and to bring to justice those who spread fear. , intimidation and provoke violence – warned the CNAB.
