Panelists:

HIKMET KARCIC, Researcher at University of Sarajevo
DENNIS MISKIC, Journalist
INGRID STEINER-GASHI, Head of Foreign Affairs Department & Former EU Correspondent, Kurier

Moderation:

STEPHANIE FENKART, Director of the IIP

Content:

The topic of the event will encompass Karcic’s research on the genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the presence of far-right symbols, and the nationalism/extremism in the Southeastern European region, with a particular focus on its implications for the European Union (EU). This discussion will delve into the complex dynamics shaping the region and the EU, shedding light on the historical context of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian genocide, the resurgence of right-wing extremism, and the overall political situation. Moreover, the event will explore how these factors affect the broader European landscape, emphasizing the EU's role and its interests in Southeastern Europe, but also the upcoming 2024 EU Parliament elections.

Hikmet Karčić is a genocide and Holocaust researcher based in Sarajevo. He was named the Auschwitz Institute-Keene State College Global Fellow of the Year in 2017 and has extensively written about genocide denial and crime prevention. In the region, he is regarded as a leading expert in these fields.

His book, 'Torture, Humiliate, Kill: Inside the Bosnian Serb Camp System' (University of Michigan Press), was published in March 2022. It addresses the collective traumas experienced by the non-Serb population in concentration camps during the war, including the excessive use of torture, sexual abuse, humiliation, and killing. The physical and psychological suffering caused by these methods was seen as a rapid and efficient means to establish the 'Serbian living space.'

The book focuses on several examples of experiences in concentration camps in four cities operated by the Bosnian Serbs during the war: Prijedor, Bijeljina, Višegrad, and Bileća.