BOSNIA SCRIPT –
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intro |
00 10 VO The scars of Bosnia’s civil war have
never fully healed. But for years this divided country has kept a fragile
peace- now with Ukraine on fire and Europe on high alert for Russian meddling
elsewhere – Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik is threatening to secede
raising the prospect of conflict once more – we have been to investigate. |
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01 02 VO While Ukraine endures the full
onslaught of a Russian invasion, five hundred miles south, another European
country teeters on the verge of conflict – the Balkan Republic of Bosnia |
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01 25 VO Hardline Serb nationalist, Milorad Dodik,
leader of the country’s Republika Srpska region, is
threatening to secede – a move which would spark internal conflict and could
once again engulf the western Balkans in bloodshed |
Presidency member Željko Komšić |
01 44 Željko Komšić
SYNC I don’t believe that Dodik is a mere
opportunist, but a man with a plan, a very dangerous plan |
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01 48 VO And even as the spectre of war hangs
over the Balkan Republic, those guilty of dreadful crimes are now being
rehabilitated |
Nihad Kreševljaković,
historian |
01 57 Nihad Kreševljaković
SYNC It’s not that they deny, they
celebrate genocide, they celebrate war criminals |
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02 04 VO Dodik’s administration has rehearsed
war games outside the capital, Sarajevo,
while elsewhere Russian-backed paramilitaries have sprung up |
Hikmet Karčić,
genocide expert Sarajevo University |
02 14 Hikmet Karčić,
SYNC The worst-case scenario would be to
have an all-out war in Bosnia. |
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Fade |
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02 23 VO 26 years ago, the Bosnian War
finally came to an end with the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords. The
conflict between Bosnia’s 3 ethnic and religious groups, the Orthodox Serbs,
the Muslim Bosniaks and the Catholic Croats, was
Europe’s bloodiest since the second world war, leaving the country in deep
trauma. |
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02 50 Nihad Kreševljaković
SYNC There is no
any doubt that experience of the siege and the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina
affected all of us who lived here. |
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02 58 VO The Dayton Accords had to somehow
recognise the divergent aspirations of the 3 ethnic groups, splitting the
country into 2 semi-autonomous regions: the Bosniak
and Croat dominated Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the mostly Serb
entity of Republica Srbska. |
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VO A tripartite presidency was
established and continues today, with a member from each of the 3 ethnic
groups. UN peace keeping troops, mostly from Europe, were tasked to oversee
the implementation of Dayton, of which a small contingent
remains known now as EUFOR. For several months now, this
precarious peace accord has been threatening to unravel |
Johann Sattler EU ambassador to
Bosnia |
03 47 Johann Sattler SYNC We need to be very vigilant.. And that’s why we also decided to beef up the
international troops here. We’ve decided to double the size of U4 to about 12
hundred soldiers which will be coming in in the next days. |
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04 01 VO In October 2021, Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb member
of the tripartite presidency, announced that Republika
Srpska would withdraw from the federal judiciary and tax regime, effectively
paralysing the Bosnian government. He has long called for succession |
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04 20 UPSOF Dodik says: The crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina
will disappear only when Bosnia-Herzegovina disappears |
Presidency member, Šefik Džaferović |
04 27 Šefik Džaferović
SYNC With his insane actions, Dodik can
only jeopardise the peace… and
destabilise the situation in every possible way, in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
in the Western Balkans and in Europe |
We have this in writing? |
04 42 VO But Dodik, who declined to be
interviewed for this film,
has his allies, and is a regular guest of the Serbian president
Alexander Vucic |
Nemanja Starović,
Serbian secretary of state for Foreign Affairs |
04 52 Glenn: What do you think of Milorad
Dodik? He’s a very controversial figure?. Nemanja Starović,
SYNC Well, I would like to rephrase that
saying that we are aware that there is a deep political crisis with many
factors involved. And sometimes it seems like a kind of oversimplification to
point a finger to solely one person being that Milorad Dodik |
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05 12 VO But closer to home, alarm bells rang
when Dodik declared his intention to remove Bosnian Serb troops from the
Bosnian army in order to create a separate Serb
force. The move was strongly backed by
Russia |
Igor Kalabukhov,
Russian Ambassador
to Bosnia |
05 28 Igor Kalabukhov,
SYNC In the mid-90s where we had three
warring armies pitted against each other. So… his understanding is that
…legally Republica Srpsca
has a right to have its own army. |
PX the war/the siege and the recent
Serb manoeuvres |
05 44 VO The Bosnian Serb army of the 1990s
is the only armed force in recent history of which almost the entire
leadership has been convicted of crimes against humanity. These crimes
included the 3-year siege of Sarajevo when Bosnian Serb forces shelled the
city from Mount Jahorina resulting 14,000 civilian
deaths. So in October 2021 when Bosnian Serb police
carried out military style drills on the same mountainside, the residents of
Sarajevo were horrified |
Hikmet Karčić,
genocide expert Sarajevo University |
06 27 Hikmet Karčić
SYNC, The Bosnian Serbs currently have a very militarized police, very militarized reserve
forces, which means that they can very quickly mobilize reserve police
officers, hand them Kalashnikovs and have a proper army in a few days. |
Better |
06 40 VO Many in the Bosnian capital see
Russia’s hand in these events. |
Presidency member Željko Komšić |
06 45 Željko Komšić
SYNC The real agenda is expansion of the
Russian influence here in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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06 48 VO It’s true that over the years
Milorad Dodik, has had numerous well publicised meetings with Vladimir Putin.
But of equal concern in Sarajevo is his association with other more shadowy
figures connected to the Kremlin. The most important of these is Konstantin Malofeev, dubbed Putin’s billionaire. |
Veldin Kadić,
security expert Sarajevo University |
07 10 Veldin Kadić
SYNC Konstantin Malofeev
is one of those people who is always ready to defend Orthodox as a religion
and its Orthodox brothers from eastern Ukrainia to
western Balkan by creating frozen
conflict justifying it by the need to protect its Orthodox brothers. |
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07 32 VO Malofeev is the owner of Tzargrad
TV which pumps out a daily diet of nationalist propaganda across Russia,
mixing religion with politics. When we met him in 2018, this is what Malifeev had to say about Vladimir Putin |
Archive P&P |
07 48 Konstantin Malofeev
SYNC President Putin is our leader given
to us by god. ,
a leader who can make so many steps for Russia to be back historical way of
how Russia developed before revolution. |
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08 06 VO Malofeev had previously financed the
pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Indeed, in 2014 Malofeev’s former employees became the defence minister
and prime minister of the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic. When we asked
about his role in the conflict, he declined to discuss it. |
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08 26 Konstantin Malofeev
SYNC I told this so many times. It was
just humanitarian aid that I did then, please I just don’t want to go there. |
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08 36 VO Nonetheless as a
consequence of his activity in Donbas the billionaire was placed on an
EU and US Blacklist. Later that year Malofeev
turned his attention to Bosnia |
Johann Sattler EU ambassador to
Bosnia |
08 48 Johann Sattler SYNC There’s a longstanding support
coming from Moscow… for… for Mr. Dodik. |
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08 54 VO Malofeev seen here with Dodik, appeared in Respublika srpska
in 2014 along with 150 Cossack veterans from Donbass, Dodik was running for
president, and the arrival of the separatist fighters caused considerable alarm
amongst Dodik’s opponents
Fast forward to 2018, and Malofeev appears on the scene again, offering 200 million
dollars by way of a bonds purchase and unspecified logistical support to
Dodik who was once again contesting the presidency. When Malofeev’s
plane landed in Bosnia ahead of the vote the authorities prevented him from
entering the country. |
Veldin Kadić,
security expert Sarajevo University |
09 35 Veldin Kadić
SYNC The
decision by Bosnian intelligence to ban him entry was taking affect. And Malofeev returned
to Belgrade and from Belgrade to Moscow. |
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09 47 VO But it isn’t only Russian billionaires
whom Dodik counts among his friends. 2-time Palm d’Or winner, Emir Kusturica is also an admirer. the film director was given
land seized from bosniaks to build his Andricgrad ‘townlet’ in the heart of the ancient city of Visegrad. |
Nihad Kreševljaković,
historian |
10 10 Nihad Kreševljaković
SYNC It’s really bad
taste. But bad taste is less problem than the fact that he was doing that on
the territory where the people were burnt alive, where all those people who
lived there… don’t live anymore. So it’s something
which I really as the human being… it’s hard to understand how it is
possible… |
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10 28 VO The complex, comprising 50 stone
buildings, the centerpiece of which is an immense
orthodox church, has been dubbed a Bosnian Serb theme park A mosaic depicts Dodik, Kusturica and other notable Serbs frolicking in a rural
idyll. But Perhaps more than anything else, say
critics, Andricgrad represents Republika
Srpska’s denial of the past – and that the sheer scale of atrocities
committed against the Bosniaks in Visegrad is simply impossible to comprehend |
Bakira Hasečić,
survivor Višegrad |
11 03 Bakira Hasečić
SYNC They kill, they slaughter, they
rape… they rape a women, and then they set her on
fire in her house… |
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11 20 VO Bakira was raped 3 times when the war came
to Visegrad, she now hunts for war-criminals. Before the war 65% of the town’s
residents were Bosniaks. But within a few months of
the start of the conflict only Serbs remained. The search continues for the bodies
of the 3,000 bosniaks murdered by Serbian Police
and paramilitaries in Visegrad, which included some
600 women and 119 children. Their bodies were thrown into the
river Drina from the 16th century Mehmed Pasa Sokolovi Bridge, a world heritage site which now forms a
backdrop to Kusturica’s folly |
Bakira Hasečić,
survivor Višegrad |
12 12 Bakira Hasečić
SYNC Drina was foaming in blood… In the
nigh time, you could only hear screams, but in the day
you could see what was happening… at night, you could only hear screams, and the
splash of water when a body hit it… Lifeless bodies of Bosniaks
were floating… as logs. I often have dreams about this. |
Fuad Hadzic,
Former resident Viisegrad |
12 37 Fuad Hadzic
SYNC As far as I know, at this moment
only one Bosniak is living in the centre of Višegrad |
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12 44 VO Fuad Hadzic
tells us it was his land on which the director built his ‘townlet’, He says he’s been trying
ever since to get his property back through the courts. |
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12 56 Fuad Hadzic
SYNC They wanted to throw us out of Andrićgrad, Kusturica
asked: “What seems to be the problem, this is beautiful, wonderfully built?”
I agree, it is beautiful, but you should have built it on your own land, not
on someone else’s. |
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13 16 VO It’s not surprising memories are
bitter here. The town of Visegrad holds other
darker secrets. This is the Vilina Vlas Hotel,
where during the first weeks of the war more than 200 Bosniak
women were raped |
Int Bakira
Hasečić, survivor Višegrad |
13 33 Int Bakira
Hasečić, SYNC Only 10 or 15 women survived Vilina Vlas hotel. Not to mention women who had been
raped and then killed afterwards. In 1992, my Višegrad
was at the gates of hell. If you understand what hell is, my Višegrad was at the gates of that hell. |
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14 03 VO Of all the crimes committed during
the Bosnia war – and the one which people here are especially fearful of
seeing repeated - the Srebrenica massacre stands out.
This is the Srebrenica Memorial. A Museum tells the story. |
Almasa
Salihović, Srebrenica genocide survivor |
14 19 Almasa Salihović
SYNC You can see the photos that show
what was the daily life in the enclave of Srebrenica when it was clear and
safe area. It also shows the scale of genocide. It shows the mass grave, the excavation
of mass graves. So it shows everything that has to
do with genocide in Srebrenica |
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14 38 VO Almasa was only 8 at the time Srebrenica
fell to the Bosnian Serb forces - she remembers desperately trying to escape
from the town to the nearby UN headquarters, where Dutch peace
keepers were supposed to offer protection to the town’s inhabitants. |
Almasa
Salihović, Srebrenica genocide survivor |
14 57 SYNC what I remember is just running
towards this place from Srebrenica… the screams, the terror
and the fear in everybody’s eyes… I was little…still … so I could not run so
fast. And you know… there was commotion. You could see a river of people just
going in the same direction. So you just try not to
lose each and one of your family members. And my mother … she said: “I cannot
hold you. So take my clothes and don’t let go. |
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15 27 VO However, having reached the UN base
worse was to come. The commanding officer simply handed over the Bosniak refugees to Ratko Mladic the head of the Bosnian
Serbs, who at once started separating the men from the women. More than 8,000
Bosniak men and boys were systematically murdered,
the women and some children were sent away on buses. |
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15 52 Almasa Salihović
SYNC We left this… this place on 13th of
July afternoon. And on 11th of July was the last… last day when we saw my
brother Abdulla alive. |
Yes? |
16 07 VO In 2021 it became a crime in Bosnia,
punishable by up to five years in prison, to deny that the Srebrenica
massacre was a genocide. Milorad Dodik, sees things differently – |
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16 20 PX press conference Dodik UPSOF: "They suddenly decided to construct
a myth. Every people needs a myth and Bosniaks did not have a myth so decided to construct one
around Srebrenica. It is a fabricated myth; it does not exist.’ |
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16 33 VO Indeed, General Ratko Mladic, the
military commander who oversaw the genocide, is still venerated across Republika Srpska – despite the fact he’s now serving life
in prison for war crimes. |
Igor Kalabukhov,
Russian ambassador |
16 47 Igor Kalabukhov
SYNC For one people a certain persona is
a criminal, for other people he is defender of their own families. So we are dealing with a very difficult reality here. Glenn: But can that really be true
of Ratko Mladic? Kalabukhov SYNC No comments. |
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17 09 VO This is January the ninth, Republika Srpska National Day. Although it is outlawed
under Bosnian law, it was celebrated across Republika
Srpska, and marked by a military style march passed in the de facto capital,
Banja Luka, in front of Dodik, and Vinko Pandurevic, another convicted war criminal whom the UN
war crimes tribunal sentenced to 13 years for his role in the Srebrenica
genocide |
Ambassador to where btw? Astons need
to make clear NB |
17 38 Johann Sattler EU Ambassador SYNC We’ve come out clearly with how we
saw the events on the 9th of January, the rhetoric that was used. The fact
that it heightened attentions in the country… but also the fact that … you
know… there were other visitors coming from other countries. |
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17 58 VO These visitors included the Serbian
prime minister and Serbian minister of interior, as well as the Russian
ambassador |
Int Igor Kalabukhov,
Russian ambassador |
18 05 Glenn: What do you think of the celebrations in
Banja Luka? Igor Kalabukhov
SYNC, Well, it’s a… it’s a holiday of Republica Srpsca… Glenn: Standing not far…from Mr.
Dodik was a convicted war criminal. Do you think that was a good idea? Igor Kalabukhov
SYNC, I wouldn’t know… I was present there
and I was not selecting the guests for the ceremony. |
Presidency member Željko Komšić |
18 30 Željko Komšić
SYNC But this act, as well as some
previous acts, indicate that the Russian Federation does not respect
sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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18 37 VO It is not only the Russian’s and
Serbians who are supporting Dodik. Hungary’s Viktor Orban
and the Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa -seen here with Dodik and Serbian President Vucic, - are believed to have
been involved in devising a controversial European policy document, entitled,
‘Western Balkans – A Way Froward’ which began circulating in 2021. It advocated
‘joining a larger part of
Republika Srpska territory with
Serbia.’; effectively splitting Bosnia in two. |
Presidency member Šefik Džaferović |
19 09 Presidency member Šefik Džaferović SYNC It is a nonsense, a stupidity that
has nothing to do with reality … this non-paper. It can only start a fire, in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the region and in Europe |
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19 25 VO Many Bosnians also see it as
sinister that , in the last few years
a number of Russian affiliated paramilitary groups have sprung up in Republika Srpska - swearing allegiance not only to Putin
but also to Dodik. |
Hikmet Karčić,
genocide expert Sarajevo University |
19 40 Hikmet Karčić,
SYNC So there are few organizations which
represent themselves as humanitarian organizations which have very strong
links with Russia. They are military aged young men who have sort of military
uniform |
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19 52 VO One such group is called
Sveti Georgjje, whose
leader is Srdjan Letic, a
criminal with several past convictions including weapons trading. Letic says his group, which enjoys financial support from
Russian Embassy, is a humanitarian organization. |
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20 12 VO When we called on him, he was
reluctant to talk Translator says Sirdjan says ‘ he’s
not interested in talking in interviews’ He did say he’d have talked if we
were Russian |
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20 25 VO What is particularly alarming about Letic’s group is that they have based themselves in the
village of Loncari, a mere 9 miles from Brcko, arguably
the most strategically important point on the map of Bosnia. |
Presidency member Šefik Džaferović |
20 41 Šefik Džaferović
SYNC There are no coincidences … In my
opinion, the choice of the place is not random either - Lončari,
at the very entrance to Brčko |
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20 48 VO Situated in the north of Bosnia Brcko is the only link between Republika Srpska’s two halves, a corridor that was
viciously fought over during the war. At the Dayton negotiations Brcko was
deemed so tactically vital to both sides, that it was given a special
autonomous status. |
Hikmet Karčić,
genocide expert Sarajevo University |
21 08 Hikmet Karčić
SYNC Because Brčko is the only
territory which is not part of either entities. In
case of any potential clashes or violence in Bosnia, I am of opinion it will
first start in Brčko. And I’m pretty sure that organizations such as
these would be in use as some sort of force in the beginning in order to create violence and spread terror among the
local non-Serb population in Brčko. |
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21 34 VO The potential threat posed by Sveti Georgija and other
Russian-backed groups has to be seen in a new light
following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine |
Johann Sattler EU ambassador |
21 43 Johann Sattler SYNC We’ve seen not only an assault on a
sovereign country. But we’ve seen also an assault on the rules-based order.
We are going into uncharted territory. So there are
risks |
Presidency member Željko Komšić |
21 57 Željko Komšić
SYNC Just as Russia does not want Ukraine
to be in NATO or in the European Union, Russia does not want any country of
the Western Balkans to join NATO or the European Union either. |
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22 11 VO And as fighting intensified in
Ukraine, Dusanka Majkic,
an MP from Dodik’s governing party, tweeted this “A reminder: Moscow said in March
2021 that it would react if Bosnia and Herzegovina take’s steps towards
joining NATO. Don’t say later that you didn’t know,” |
Adjusted just a bit for tautology |
22 40 VO But Bosnia needs no reminding of the
danger it is in. It’s graveyards are filled with
victims…it’s towns and villages depleted of inhabitants. |
Sudbin Musić,
Čarakovo Village |
22 54 Sudbin Musić,
SYNC I lost my father, I lost my 45
family members here… my school friends, my teachers |
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23 06 VO When the Serb army arrived at Čarakovo, Subdin was
rounded up with the other men and boys and taken to a nearby river where they
were told to swim. Once in the water they were to be shot |
Sudbin Musić,
Čarakovo Village |
23 20 Sudbin Musić,
SYNC You are looking directly to the eyes
of death. And you are just praying to be fast… you know… not to suffer. And
then somebody started to scream “No, no!”… And that soldier who ordered us to swim… he
ordered us to get back. And it was bus-driver of my school bus and a good
friend of my father. He decided to rescue me and my brother. And we are the
only survivors in my neighbourhood |
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24 04 VO Subdin was then taken to the concentration
camp at Trnopolje and eventually freed weighing
just 46 kilos |
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24 14 Sudbin Musić,
SYNC We … had nothing to eat.. You are thirsty. But you are not hungry. (showing a
photo) – That’s me…when I was liberated. I am giving an interview to a
British TV |
Sudbin Musić, |
24 28 Sudbin Musić,
SYNC You know… we are politically
devastated, you know. Let us talk about parliament of Republica
Srpsca. You have 83 members of the parliament. And
only 3 of them are Bosniaks. Milorad Dodik realized
that he can do it. You know… Who is going to stop him |
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