“Appeasement never works”: Lessons from Bosnia’s post-war justice
On October 24, 2024, Riga, the Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform was held in Riga, the capital of Latvia, gathering over 70 delegations, including 36 heads of parliaments, both in-person and online.
The summit participants discussed current challenges related to the occupation of Crimea, human rights violations in the occupied territories, and the international response to Russia’s actions.
Dr. Denis Zvizdić, Deputy Speaker of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina emphasised the importance of establishing an international tribunal to hold accountable all those who committed war crimes on Ukrainian territory, as well as the need to restore an international order based on rules and sanctions.
ZMINA publishes his speech at the Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform.
Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen!
Last year on this very day, I addressed the plenary session of the Second Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform. I shared the experience of my country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which also suffered aggression from neighbouring state. In that regard, I will convey a few messages to the Ukrainian people and to the representatives of the international community.
The first message is that the international community must increase military, economic and all other forms of assistance to Ukraine. Without strong and continuous support, the worst scenario will follow. For years the world turned a blind eye to the horrific crimes committed by aggressors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, culminating in ethnic cleansing, mass war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as internationally judged genocide in Srebrenica.
In 1945 the world said “never again,” but yet it repeated in 1995 in Srebrenica, and today in 2024 we are watching mass crimes and violations of international law in Ukraine.
My second message emphasises the urgent need to establish an international tribunal to prosecute all war crimes committed in Ukraine. Similar to the tribunal established for the former Yugoslavia, which, while not delivering absolute justice, achieved an important historical task by defining, through a series of verdicts, the distinction between war criminals and those who fought for the freedom, territorial integrity and sovereignty of their homeland.
Finally, my third message is that we must return to a rules-based international order and sanction anyone who violates these rules. In that context, it is essential to underline that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine didn’t start in February 2022, as many often claim, but in 2014 with the illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea as an integral part of Ukraine’s territory. At that time, the international community didn’t understand that appeasing an aggressor is never the right approach.
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Aggressors will always push further and become more violent in the future. I think the key message of today’s summit is that we must and will restore and protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognised borders.
Furthermore, considering Russia’s interference in the internal affairs of Western Balkan countries, we should send the proper and important message that the European Union, together with the U.S., U.K., and other partners, will not allow any redrawing of borders, neither in Ukraine nor in Western Balkans. There can be no peace in Europe without a peaceful and stable Ukraine as a member of the European Union and NATO, just as there is no peace in Europe without a peaceful and stable Western Balkans as a part of the European Union and NATO.
Only in this way will we have lasting peace, long-term stability, and prosperity in Europe. Thank you for your attention.
Слава Україні!
