BOSNIA - RS MEDIA FOCUSING ON WARTIME PAST, NOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 002316

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR (DICARLO),EUR/SCE (FOOKS/STINCHCOMB);
NSC FOR BRAUN, OSD FOR BEIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR BK
SUBJECT: BOSNIA - RS MEDIA FOCUSING ON WARTIME PAST, NOT
EURO-ATLANTIC FUTURE

Classified By: Political Counselor Michael J. Murphy for reasons 1.4(b)
and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Over the last year, there has been a steady
stream of reporting from Republika Srpska (RS) media about
the 1992-1995 war. Almost all of it has focused on alleged
crimes and perceived injustices committed against the Serbs,
including the post-war "failure" of international and state
institutions to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to
justice. Facts are often manipulated and statistics
exaggerated to make the case that Serbs, too, were victims in
the 1992-1995 conflict as well as at other points in their
history. This relentless media onslaught keeps old wounds
open and RS mindsets planted squarely in the past. It also
facilitates efforts by RS politicians to portray current
political events as another in a long line of threats to the
Serbs and to portray their obstructionism as an attempt to
ensure that Serbs will "never again" be victims. This has
fueled Serb passions, paranoia and insecurities. It also
bodes poorly for long term reconciliation in the region, and
for the development of strong, multi-ethnic state
institutions, particularly those charged with addressing the
legacy of the 1992-1995 war. Serb suffering in Kosovo is
also an increasingly prominent theme in the RS media. END
SUMMARY.

RS Media,s Renewed Focus on the 92-95 War
--------------


2. (SBU) Media based in the Republika Srpska (RS) have
maintained a steady barrage of reporting about the 1992-1995
war. In the past year, we have noticed greater emphasis on:

-- Anniversaries of alleged wartime "massacres" of Serbs;
-- Commemorations for Serb victims of alleged atrocities;
-- The management of war crimes cases by the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and State
Court;
-- Testimonials from alleged war crime survivors and family
members of the "victims."

These items are a daily part of primetime news broadcasts and
RS print media, and they are often supplemented by coverage
that harkens back to Serb victims in the world wars.

Us Against the World
--------------


3. (C) Perceived grievances against Serbs are a prominent
theme of war-related reporting in the RS. This approach is
encouraged by RS officials who regularly attend
commemorations for alleged crimes against Serbs, visit and
assist survivors or victims, families and make public
statements promising to prevent future injustices against
Serbs. Commentary on ICTY and State Court cases against
alleged Serb war criminals dwells on the perceived anti-Serb
bias of both institutions rather than the facts of the cases
themselves. More extensive, fact-based RS media coverage of
ICTY's and the State Court,s work generally occurs only when
those on trial are Bosniak, such as former Army of Bosnia
wartime commander Rasim Delic. Acquittals, or what Serbs
consider to be "light" sentences for those accused of crimes
against Serbs, also receive prominent coverage.

Serbs Were Victims Too
--------------


4. (C) The subtext of these media reports is clear: that
Serbs were victims too, that justice for Serb victims has not
been served, and that these crimes against Serbs could happen
again. There is little effort by the RS media to distinguish
between scope and scale of the crimes allegedly committed
against Serbs and those committed in and around Srebrenica in
July 1995 against Bosniaks. More generally, RS media
consistently downplay statistics of war crimes committed by
Serbs, and often exaggerate the number of Serb civilians
killed during the war. The most reliable estimate of wartime
deaths comes from the Sarajevo-based Research and
Documentation Center (RDC),which puts the total Serb
civilian death toll at 3,555; yet at anniversaries of alleged
atrocities around the RS, speakers regularly claim that
"thousands" of Serb civilians died. Taken collectively,

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these claims would put Serb civilian deaths well above the
RDC numbers. RS-based organizations attempting to promote
"the truth" about Serb victims are also given prominent
coverage.

Digging Up The Past: We Will Never Forget
--------------


5. (C) A recent RS government announcement that it would
place greater emphasis on commemorating Serb victims of the
1992-1995 war has prompted much, though not all, of the
latest coverage by RS media of war-related events. Our
impression is that RS media outlets are competing amongst
themselves to impress government officials with the extent of
their coverage. The main government-backed television
station Radio Television RS (RTRS) is the most frequent
broadcast offender, but other "private" stations are also
under the strong influence of the government and carry
similar stories. Private print media outlets also maintain
close ties to Dodik's Alliance of Independent Social
Democrats (SNSD) and show general support for RS government
policies.

6.(SBU) The following are a few representative sampls
demonstrative of the overall media environment

-- (SBU) On July 12, RS media highlighted the nnual
commemoration of the deaths of 69 Serb soliers and civilians
during 1992 attacks on Serb villages near Bratunac. For
several years, this ceremony has been intended as a
counterpoint to Bosniak commemoration on July 11 of the
genocide committed in neighboring Srebrenica.

-- (SBU) On August 21, RTRS carried a story about a
commemoration for Bosniak victims killed at Koricanske
Stijene. RS journalists offset the story, however, by
inserting quotations from an RS Camp Prisoners Association
press release, urging a maximum penalty for ICTY indictee
Bosniak General Rasim Delic for crimes against Serbs.

-- (SBU) On September 17, RTRS opened its main evening news
with sensational wartime footage containing explicit scenes
of the execution of Serb POWs and the bodies of Serb victims.
The footage included parts of a speech by the Zavidovici
Imam to a Mujaheddin unit, and purported to demonstrate that
"Mujaheddins" were part of the chain of command of the BiH
army.

-- (SBU) The same September 17 RTRS news broadcast continued
with two additional stories about Serb victims. The first
reported on the death of 16 Serb civilians killed by
"Croat-Muslim forces" in the RS village of Serdari in 1992.
The story included quotations from the RS Association of War
Veterans, whose leaders announced that they are unsatisfied
with the lack of indictments for this crime. The second
story covered the anniversary of a 1995 action by the
Croatian regular army during which more than 100 RS soldiers
and civilians were killed.

-- (SBU) On September 18, the RS print media followed suit,
with Glas Srpske carrying a cover story headlined, "Let the
Criminals be Punished" accompanied by a large photo of late
RS President Milan Jelic placing a wreath on the memorial
cross for Serb victims. The article carried his quotation:
"We have to forgive, because it is in a manner of
Christianity, but we will not forget, because we do not want
to allow the repetition of this evil." On the same page,
Glas implicitly linked the story about Serb war victims with
ongoing police reform negotiations by prominently including
the quote that "Jelic stressed that the RS was ready to make
reforms, but it was not ready to accept reforms that will
destroy the RS, because the Serb people have no
alternatives."

-- (SBU) On October 10, RS media blanketed the airways with
live coverage of memorial events in Mrkonjic Grad, in Western
Krajina, on the anniversary of the death of what Serbs claim
was several thousand Serbs in October 1995. Dodik and
numerous other RS politicians attended the commemorations.
Glas Srpske ran a cover story titled, "Indictments Warm
Drawers," implying that legal prosecutions in these cases are
stalled.

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