Atlas Week Features Panel on the Genocide Denial of the Bosnian War

JULIETTE CALLAHAN Copy Editor

On Thursday, April 20, Saint Louis University held “The Fight Against Genocide Denial and the Preservation of Memory in Bosnia and Herzegovina” panel led by Patrick McCarthy, Director of the Medical Center Library and Associate Dean of University Libraries at SLU.

The panel echoed how the continual public genocide denial by Serbian politicians dehumanizes victims, opposes the peace treaty obligations, minimizes the memory of the war and glorifies the crimes committed while laying the conditions that could lead to the recurrence of these crimes.

McCarthy and guest panelist Akif Cogo explained how policy implementation could alter the future and ensure the safety and security of the former Yugoslavian republic.

“Bosnia needs EU integration,” said Cogo.

Together McCarthy and Cogo lobby for policy changes that would curtail the denial from the politicians and grant Bosnia and Herzegovina a NATO membership. Membership guarantees defense obligations from neighboring countries.

In St. Louis, McCarthy and Cogo not only continue their lobbying, but work to foster the Bosnian community’s presence and growth in St. Louis, the state of Missouri, and the greater United States through Cogo’s nonprofit organization, St. Louis Bosnian Inc.

Most refugees and immigrants impacted by the war relocated to America, with St. Louis’ BosnianHerzegovinian community estimated at 60,000 in 2023. In 2022 they published, “Bosnian St. Louis: Between Two Worlds,” which examines the history, stories and impact of Bosnian immigrants in St. Louis.

Although the panel discussed the history of the war, the most prevailing aspect was the genocide denial.