30 years since the Srebrenica genocide: Genocide denial persists in regional media

8372 Bosniak men and boys were killed by the Army of the Republika Srpska on July 11, 1995, in what is widely recognised as the largest massacre in Europe since the Second World War. This year marked three decades since the genocide. Here is how the media in the region reported before, during, and after the commemoration. 

Media outlets from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as well as regional and international media reported from the ground during the commemoration in Potočari. Among them were regional TV channels Al Jazeera and N1. Numerous media outlets reported professionally and ethically, stating judicially established facts, but also highlighting stories of survivors and returnees, as well as others directly affected by the genocide. This is important in reporting on such crimes.  

By showing stories of people affected by war crimes, journalists not only fulfil their professional duty, but also contribute to reconciliation and counter unfounded narratives of relativisation and denial. 

However, most media outlets in Republika Srpska, including the public broadcaster, covered the commemoration only briefly, stripping it of necessary context. As in previous years, the genocide is almost never referred to as such, but rather vaguely named a “crime” or “suffering,” while attention was shifted toward Serbian victims of other war crimes. An exception was the highly professional reporting of the news portal Buka.  

According to the latest report of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre, there were three times fewer instances of genocide denial this year than last. Yet the sources remain the same. Media outlets and public officials from Serbia, Republika Srpska and, occasionally, Montenegro were the most common generators of genocide denial.  

Among them were Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić and Milorad Dodik, who served as president of Republika Srpska until early this month when he was stripped of his mandate. Apart from Dodik and Vučić, the biggest genocide negators include Serbian media outlets Alo, Informer, Politika, Srbija Danas and B92, as well as the Montenegrin media outlet Borba.  

One of the articles published in Borba labelled the genocide as “staged”, while another article on the Montenegrin portal IN4S framed it as a “Western fabrication”. 

Genocide denial peaked in 2024 because the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Resolution on Srebrenica, declaring July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide and condemning the denial of that crime.  

The resolution only reaffirmed what international courts had already established, while Serbia or the Serbs as a people and a nation are not even mentioned in the resolution. 

Still, a months-long campaign in Serbia and Republika Srpska portrayed it as an attack on Serbs and Serbia. The central message of the campaign, “We are not a genocidal nation”, appeared not only all-over mainstream media but in public spaces as well, including billboards across Belgrade, the Belgrade Tower, and the official social media pages of President Vučić. 

The “genocidal nation” narrative resurfaced again this year, but with a twist. It was also weaponised against protesters, students, activists and civil society organisations, opposition politicians, and journalists and media outlets in Serbia that report professionally. Pro-regime tabloid Informer branded Al Jazeera as “Islamist” and N1 as “anti-Serb” media, claiming they plan to “overthrow Vučić and teach Serbian children that Serbs are genocidal”.  

This escalated before the commemoration, around a huge protest in Belgrade on June 28th, and continues to this day, as protests, as well as regime oppression and police brutality, escalate across Serbian cities. The Srebrenica Memorial Centre noted how genocide denial was used as a tool to suppress growing student-led protests in Serbia. 

Serbia’s mainstream media coverage of the commemoration was widespread but similarly evasive. The term genocide was avoided and reduced to a “tragedy” or “terrible event”. Many either openly relativised, minimised, and denied the genocide in Srebrenica or interviewed and provided space to those who did. TV Kurir had a special show titled “30 years since Srebrenica – abuse of crimes against the Serbian people”, framing the massacre as a political weapon used against Serbs.  

Still, many independent outlets in Serbia reported ethically and professionally, held institutions accountable and highlighted the persistence of genocide denial, often facing smear campaigns for doing so. 

In Albania, where Srebrenica usually receives less attention than in the former Yugoslav countries, this year stood out. National media covered the commemoration extensively and professionally, often focusing on human stories, such as Euronews Albania’s feature on Devla Ajsić, a survivor of sexual violence who was raped in the former Dutch-run camp. 

Many outlets emphasised the need for the Serbian government to acknowledge and apologise for its complicity and part in the genocide. Several also drew parallels between the genocide in Srebrenica and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. 

Almost all Kosovar media outlets reported responsibly on the 30-year commemoration of Srebrenica, while the day was marked with a minute of silence in the parliament, which MPs from the Serbian List boycotted. Many media, both in Albanian and Serbian languages, reported on this, but without giving any comments or context. Several independent media in the Serbian language, such as Kossev and Radio KiM, reported on the commemoration held in North Mitrovica professionally as well. 

In North Macedonia, coverage was quieter. The government issued a statement honouring victims, echoed by the opposition SDSM, while the ruling VMRO party remained silent. Media outlets offered little explanatory reporting, apart from republishing EU officials’ remarks acknowledging their responsibility for failing to prevent the genocide. 

The final rulings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) established the events in Srebrenica as genocide. Together with ICTY, the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia have so far sentenced a total of 54 people to 781 years in prison for genocide, crimes against humanity and other crimes committed in Srebrenica. Among them were Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, the former political and military leaders of Republika Srpska, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, however, they remain glorified as heroes by many public officials and media outlets in Republika Srpska and Serbia, as well as some in Montenegro. 

The glorification of war criminals responsible for Srebrenica, as well as the genocide denial that culminates around the commemoration day on July 11th each year, has been ongoing for as long as the memory of the genocide itself.  

Repeated for decades, especially by public officials and mainstream media, this culture of denial shapes entire generations. Reconciliation in the region is necessary, and the first step towards this is dealing with the past, recognising the genocide in Srebrenica and other war crimes, honouring the victims, and acknowledging individual and institutional responsibility. 

Author: Anja Anđušić