Combating Hate Speech in Bosnia-HerzegovinaA Balkan Diskurs Special Report

Combating Hate Speech in Bosnia-Herzegovina

A Balkan Diskurs Special Report

Contributors: Edina Šahmanović, Mladen Lakić, Nataša

Kondić, Abdullah Kozlić, Danka Cvijić, Zlatan Likić, Sara Velaga, Elma Karahodžić

Edited by: Tim Bidey, Chloé Gaillard

Design by: Taylor McConnell

What is hate speech?

“The term ‘hate speech’ shall be understood as covering all forms of expression which

spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance, including: intol-erance expressed by aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism, discrimination and hostil-ity against minorities, migrants and people of

immigrant origin.”

- Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation 97 (20)

3 Foreword4 Web Portals: From Freedom of Speech to Violence Edina Šahmanović (21), Kalesija (Tuzla)6 Journalists Are Partly to Blame for Hate Speech Mladen Lakić (25), Eastern Sarajevo8 Graffiti in the Name of Art or Hate? Nataša Kondić (22), Banja Luka10 Football Stands - Settling Nationalist Scores Abdullah Kozlić (20), Zenica12 Hate Speech That May Evolve into Crime Danka Cvijić (22), Gradiška14 Insufficient Punishment of Hate Speech Crimes Zlatan Likić (21), Vareš16 Bullying and the Boy Unseen Sara Velaga (21), Jajce18 Taking a Stand against Hate Speech Elma Karahodžić (23), Jelah (Tešanj)20 Where to Report Hate Speech Online

Balkan Diskurs is an independent multimedia outlet that provides young citizen journalists, activists and academics in the Western Bal-kans with a space free from censor-ship to publish their opinions, anal-yses and impressions of the region in which they live.

In a media culture dominated by po-litical elites and corruption, which serve to divide rather than unite, we offer young citizens from across the region a chance to engage on issues of common concern, with a particu-lar focus on the lack of transparent, objective and accurate media.

Table of Contents

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Foreword

Incidents of hate speech are an issue of concern in all societies, but they pose particular challenges in those recovering from violent conflict. Hate speech can perpetuate entrenched divides, fuel radicalism or even incite direct violence, threatening long-term peacebuilding processes.

In Bosnia, hate speech is often directed towards members of ethnic groups, returnee communi-ties, victims of sexual violence or minority groups. It can be found in the media, on walls and in stadiums and schools across the country. It doesn’t stop there: the comments sections of online portals, blogs and social networks are also breeding grounds for offensive hate speech.

Such incidents of hate speech need to be regulated, especially so in countries such as Bosnia, with due consideration of freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of access to information. Sadly, while the constitution in Bosnia provides a legal basis for such regulation, enforcement of the law is often lacking.

However, regulating hate speech is not the responsibility of governments alone. We must always remember that the prevention of hate speech is the responsibility of all citizens.

With this in mind, the Post-Conflict Research Center and Balkan Diskurs recently trained a diverse group of young bloggers, activists and future media makers in how to monitor and report incidents of online and offline hate speech in Bosnia to relevant authorities.

What’s more, we didn’t stop there. To help raise public awareness and confront the realities of hate speech in Bosnia, we also trained these young people to publicly report stories of hate speech from their local communities.

This special report is the result of their hard work. It contains stories of success and tales of trag-edy, all of which give an insight into the hate speech that Bosnians witness, face or endure on a daily basis. It also pays testament to the brave efforts of those people working to combat hate speech in all its forms.

Upon reading, one thing is clear: we need to do more. Hate speech has no place in Bosnia. It’s imperative that we acknowledge the effects of hate speech on its individual victims, reduce public acceptance of hate speech, and recognize the dangers it poses to Bosnia’s future development.

Velma ŠarićEditor-in-Chief of Balkan Diskurs

Internet forums are a parallel universe and the real face of a frustrated and bitter society that, unfortunately, is not mature enough to engage in discussions supported by arguments.

Although they facilitate the exchange of opinions and pub-lic debate, web portals are also an opportunity for spreading hate speech, which often incites violence. Whether forbid-ding such comments is limiting free speech is still a difficult question to answer.

Ana Benačić, a journalist from the N1 TV network, points out that forums are a parallel universe and the real face of a frustrated and bitter society that, unfortunately, is not mature enough to engage in discussions supported by argu-ments.

“They are fertile grounds for hate speech. When people hide behind avatars, they feel confident enough to openly express what they usually keep to themselves,” said Benačić, adding that one of her colleagues reported the death threats he re-ceived on a forum to the police.

The police located the person who was behind the threats, but when they showed up on the perpetrator’s doorstep, they found a 45-year-old mother of two underage children.

“Those are the people we see every day,” said Benačić.

Žarka Radoja, the editor of the Radio Free Europe internet portal agrees with the N1 journalist, noting that portals in Serbia and other countries in the region are a place where hatred is spread and all sorts of stereotypes are perpetuated.

“It is worrisome that there is not a single portal where you can read constructive criticism or debates which are not filled with the lowest vulgarities of numerous anonymous

Edina is a Balkan Diskurs trained correspondent from Kalesija. She studies journalism at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tuzla. Edi-na also works as a reporter and TV host at a local broadcasting service in Tuzla.

Web Portals: From Freedom of Speech to ViolenceEdina Šahmanović (21), Kalesija (Tuzla)

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people who do not stop at hate speech, but often go as far as threats,” says Radoja.

Benačić, who was named best internet journalist of 2012 by the Croatian Journalist Association (HND), adds that part of the responsibility is with the media, who do not erase inappropriate comments or report the potentially dangerous ones to the police. However, she feels that termi-nating the discussion is not the solution.

Tanja Topić, analyst and head of the Banja Luka office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, notes that in our public discourse there exists a very filthy and toxic language which is often, in reality, hate speech directed at everyone who is different or who thinks differently.

“We don’t have a culture of dialogue and conversation that includes the strength of actual evi-dence for one’s claim; instead we are prone to insulting, belittling and badmouthing everything that bothers us because it doesn’t fit into our limited and divided mindsets,” said Topić.

According to Tanja, the internet is the highest form of freedom of speech, and that freedom should be respected as well as nurtured and developed.

“Without suggesting any censure of free expression, I think that every portal’s editorial staff should include an administrator who is responsible for the removal of all comments that spread hatred, hate speech, and intolerance. That would contribute to more responsible behavior from each and every one of us,” explains Topić.

Milkica Milojević, the president of the Association of BiH journalists feels that editors are re-sponsible for all content on these portals, including comments:

“The so-called new media and the internet in general are a huge free space, but we should never forget that freedom, always and in all social circumstances, is a responsibility as well. The prob-lem, however, is that the space for debate is abused as an outlet for insults, hatred, and incompe-tent comments,” says Milojević.

According to Milojević, the solution for hate speech on the internet is delegating responsibility.

“Editors of portals have to take responsibility for the content on the portal, and that includes comments, especially if they were made anonymously. It is up to them to decide whether they will disable comments on certain topics, or whether they will edit them by removing the offensive, rude, and inflammatory ones,” added Milojević.

According to current legislation, inflammatory speech, hate speech, or speech that incites vio-lence and social or ethnic conflicts is punishable by a fine or up to three years in prison. The laws do not include provisions for the responsibility of the editors of portals who do not remove hate speech, or for those who call for violence.

Incitement, slander and other forms of hate speech are present in the media, but mainly as the weapon of po-litical powers. Opinions are divided on whether or not journalists are to blame for this situation.

According to professor from the Department of Journalism at the University of Banja Luka, Vesna Djurić, it’s a major problem that incitement, slander, and discrimination are commonplace in public discourse.

She says that defamation and hate speech are unacceptable in the public arena, and journalists are partly to blame for the present situation.

“In order to get a ‘juicy story’, journalists fail to inform their interviewees that they cannot use such language and are, therefore, indirectly contributing to making such communi-cation part of the established norm,” said Djurić.

Zlatiborka Popov Momčinović, a professor from the Faculty of Philosophy in Pale, is one of the leading researchers on a project that focuses on the presence of hate speech within media content. In her opinion, the problem is the fact that those using hate speech and other forms of inappropriate speech are primarily politicians.

“We are talking about messages of incitement and discrim-ination that are directed towards ethnic, sexual, and other minorities,” said Popov Momčinović.

She recalled the “Sejdić-Finci” ruling; an instance when pol-iticians used extremely inappropriate language. “Especially in public discourse, the emphasis on different of different denial froms—denial of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s sovereignty and genocide denial—has become characteristic of the state-ments made by politicians during appearances,” she added.

Mladen Lakić is a Balkan Diskurs trained correspondent from Eastern Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. He studied Journalism at the Univer-sity of East Sarajevo. In addition to his journalistic endeavors, Mladen works as a human rights researcher and is also an activist.

Journalists Are Partly to Blame for Hate SpeechMladen Lakić (25), Eastern Sarajevo

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For Popov Momčinović, the most important finding from the above-mentioned research is that, in most cases, journalists were not the ones using hate speech. “Although the media are subject to considerable criticism with regard to their adherence to professional standards, the fact that the journalists themselves do not use hate speech is encouraging and gives hope for positive change related to education and sensitivity surrounding this issue,” Bedrana Kaletović, a journalist from Tuzla, believes that direct hate speech has undergone a certain change of late.

“Now it is indirect, and often allegorical, descriptions and statements that interviewees clumsily use. The problem with their naivety becomes even more apparent when you realize that they have no awareness of the words they have spoken, or of the serious implications they can have. And what’s worse is that journalists don’t sanction this,” said Kaletović.

Jana Bjelica, an unemployed journalist from Eastern Sarajevo, agrees with Kaletović.

“They rarely really hate someone or wish evil on someone (at least I would like to believe that), but this type of speech is often used to gain political points or popularity from a portion of the public, and that is bad for everyone – especially for us, the young people,” said Bjelica.

Nataša Crkvenjaš, a journalism student from Eastern Sarajevo, said that at the university they are being taught how to properly and ethically approach a situation in which the interviewee uses hate speech, but the question remains – how to, for example, interrupt a high-ranking govern-ment official while he is using such speech.

Our interviewees conclude that hate speech can never be justified through freedom of speech, and that society must make it clear that hate speech will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Graffiti is a type of written or painted message, usually in re-sponse to the state of society. It encourages people to further their creativity and originality through creating pieces that few can ignore, regardless of whether the graffiti is positive or negative in nature.

Ivan Šijaković, professor of sociology at the Faculty of Political Sci-ences in Banja Luka, considers graffiti an expression of rebellion, the product of a captive consciousness.

“People of a weaker mindset, those who experience a certain form of entrapment or cannot accept and understand others because they ha-ven’t yet discovered themselves, are usually the authors of the graffiti. Such people tend to write offensive graffiti that is directed at someone, or some ethnic or religious group. They reveal their identity as a way to protest against someone else’s,” stresses Šijaković.

We have witnessed how negative graffiti that calls for discrimination outweighs the positive instances—the ones that humorously represent the state of our society.

“Graffiti can have a positive, humorous message, but also often pres-ents certain attitudes, therefore, every tension in society – ethnic, re-ligious, or national, has been used as grounds to create graffiti against others. Graffiti can incite hatred because its messages are public state-ments. They alone cannot produce hate speech, but they are an expres-sion of it. The person creating the messages already feels that hatred, which they later write in a public place,” stresses Šijaković.

Photo 1: A painted façade in Banja Luka.

Šijaković feels that such actions should be controlled and reduced. The

Nataša is a Balkan Diskurs trained correspondent from Banja Luka. She is a student of journalism and com-munications at the Faculty of Polit-ical Sciences in Banja Luka. Nataša’s interests include investigative jour-nalism, creative writing and photog-raphy.

Graffiti in the Name of Art or Hate?Nataša Kondić (22), Banja Luka

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instigators of these actions are most often people who don’t have the courage to openly and loudly proclaim their opinions and attitudes about a certain situation to the public, but instead do it in a perfidious way. According to Šijaković, the message that will be presented to the general public is of a primitive, trapped, or limited mindset. It is such people, he adds, who give a bad name to the ones who create graffiti in the name of art.

One professional tattoo artist who paints graffiti in his spare time emphasizes that he strives to send positive messages to the people who look at his work. He feels that there is a need for more murals in order to decrease the number of threatening messages of a nationalistic nature. He is aware that such content cannot be prevent-ed as the perpetrators usually create it during times when no one is on the streets. He stresses that there is a big difference between graffiti, murals, and simply scribbling offensive content in plain letters on walls. The latter is vandalism.

Photo 2: “School rules’’. Fun graffiti that adorns the walls of a primary school in Banja Luka.

When we asked young people about graffiti, they said that even though there are positive examples that adorn buildings, the majority of instances are negative and desecrate beauty. According to them, this is an expression of frustration among younger generations and, above all, a result of a lack of proper upbringing and manners.

When asked whether graffiti can lead to hatred and, subsequently, discrimination, one student at the Faculty of Political Science in Banja Luka stated that various forms of vandalism, most commonly graffiti, do lead to dis-crimination.

“Usually the perpetrators are fans of different sports clubs or members of different political parties and different nationalities. They use graffiti to spread their messages of hate and to poison the rest of the population,” she ex-plains.

Photo 3: “A dead gay is okay”. One of the several offensive graffiti, which appeared in Banja Luka during the summer.

The fact is that graffiti has become a sort of collective expression of viewpoints. It is possible that an entire group has a certain attitude, but the person writing is the presenter, seeking out people who think like them. Graffiti plays a duel role. First, it allows a person to express their position while remaining hidden from the public eye. Second, it can provoke thought and a visible reaction from its viewers.

The phenomenon of expressing hatred in the stands and stadiums of Bosnian football clubs has not yet subsid-ed. Experts claim that those in the stands are used to expressing the rage accumulated in their personal lives.

Football fan A.S. (identity known to Balkan Diskurs) told us that the riots in football stands arise from nationalist ten-sions and usually occur when the fans come from different entities.

“There is never a problem when “Horde Zla” (supporters of the Sarajevo Football Club) come from Sarajevo to Zenica. There will be cheering and trash talk, but that happens ev-erywhere in the world and it’s about proving who’s better. It’s much worse when we from Zenica go to Banja Luka,” said A.S.

Bahrija Savarymoottoo, a social worker at the General Hos-pital in Zenica explains that a fan in a group of 200, 500, or more people, feeds off the energy of others and becomes a lot stronger and more dangerous when part of a mob.

“Most fans come to a stadium to release all the rage that has accumulated due to various personal events in their lives. All their problems are solved in the stadium’s stands through angry shouting, destruction of property – whether it’s their club’s or the opposing team’s property, state or private prop-erty – and inflicting physical and emotional injuries to the other team’s fans,” said Savarymoottoo.

State and entity laws do not have regulations that could pre-vent violence and hatred on sporting fields. In some cantons, like Zeničko-dobojski, the situation is solved through the Law on the Safety of Holding Sports Events, which sanc-tions the display of banners that incite hatred and violence or offend national, religious, or other feelings of citizens.

Abdullah is a Balkan Diskurs trained correspondent from Zenica. After completing technical high school, he plans to continue his education in political science. Abdullah is active in several non-governmental organi-zations in Zenica.

Football Stands – Settling Nation-alist ScoresAbdullah Kozlić (20), Zenica

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Apart from these regulations, this law also prescribes penalties for individuals and sports asso-ciations that organize the event. A sports association can be fined from 1000 to 5000 BAM for negligence and non-compliance with this law. Individuals can be fined from 300 to 500 BAM and be banned from soccer matches anywhere from 3-12 months.

In order to analyze the manifestations of hate speech on the sports fields of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Balkan Diskurs organized an online survey that was shared on several sports sites and forums in the country. A total of 204 people have taken the survey, of whom 165 were male and 39 were female.

The questions and results of the survey are presented below.

Unsportsmanlike conduct from groups or individuals is not uncommon in other countries either and is referred to as hooliganism. That term is used to describe fans that damage society through behavior that violates appropriate norms.

Hooligans are believed to have originated in Great Britain. The word ‘hooliganism’ was used to describe street gangs and their members in the middle and late 19th century.

British stadiums were ruled by hooligans. Each club had ‘fans’ that hated, beat and even killed each other. They also directed their hatred at players, referees, police officers and security guards. Their behavior in the football stands spilled over into the rest of the city, where they destroyed private and state property, burned cars, broke windows, looted, and spread chaos throughout the city.

Hate speech is used less now than during the 1990s, but it is still seen most frequently in political campaigns. Thus it has to be prevented, in order for it not to evolve into crime.

Toxic words quickly and easily infect entire populations. Such speech has caused some of the worst conflicts, wars, and crimes. One example is that of the former Yugoslavia. During the 1990s, propaganda was spread through the media calling for the lynch-ing of those on the opposing side. Even though the 1990s are be-hind us, there still exist messages that contain hate speech.

Radmila Čokorilo, a professor from the Faculty of Political Sci-ences in Banja Luka, thinks that hate speech is the strongest weapon, especially during a war, because of the psychological ef-fects it has on those to whom it is directed. According to Čoko-rilo, one of its primary functions is to intimidate the population.

She claims that, if such speech is broadcast through mass media, it leads to a state of fear among the citizens, and contributes to insecurity and fear for personal survival.

“I think that the citizens don’t trust the media as much as they used to, especially since the last decade of the 20th century [refer-ring to citizen’s trust in the media during the 1990s, which con-tributed ethnic division and war]. Today, propaganda is primarily used for political purposes. Politicians don’t mince words during an election campaign so as to psychologically influence potential voters,” states professor Čokorilo.

Still, she claims that there is less hate speech now than there was in the war and post-war period.

“I think that hate speech is slowly, but steadily, retreating into history where it belongs. I hope that all media have learned their lesson and that no time or space will be allocated for hate speech moving forward. All of us need to work together to eradicate hate speech,” concludes Čokorilo..

Among the media, web portals remain the least controlled. Por-tal owners give readers the liberty to comment freely, which is

Danka is a Balkan Diskurs trained correspondent from Gradiška. She is a student at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Journalism and Communication, in Banja Luka. Danka’s interests include research, creative writing and marketing.

Hate Speech That May Evolve into Crime Danka Cvijić (22), Gradiška

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often abused in the name of free speech.

Borislav Vukojević, a media expert with a master’s degree in Communication Studies, compares war propaganda with today’s media hate speech and draws attention to the dangers of not sanctioning com-ments on web portals.

“The propaganda of the 1990s was the so-called black, open propaganda, which was spread through the media without penalty. Today, we do not see that kind of incitement (when discussing traditional media), but we do see it in web portals that do not stop hate speech in their comments section,” says Vukojević.

As he explains it, spreading hate speech through radio, newspapers, television, or editorial content of web portals is a criminal liability. However, due to the unclear position of web portals, Vukojević stresses that there has been a return to the period of black propaganda.

“The people responsible remain silent, using the justification that the media have no right to limit free-dom of speech, but they don’t understand that this is not freedom, but abuse,” adds Vukojević.

Post-war hatred is not only expressed through media, but also through vandalism such as graffiti, and through individual songs by artists who call themselves patriots. During various assemblies and holiday celebrations, hatred between different nationalities is very pro-nounced, and is often expressed in messages that are spread through the media, which then cause a re-action – conflict. Another expression of hatred is commentary on social media, which also has a strong influence on the people reading it.

If we ask young people what they think about hate speech and how, in their view, they feel it is represent-ed in the media, they will not give us a complete answer, because as media experts well know hate speech is “packaged” in such a way that it can be subtly placed into the minds of citizens.

“I follow the media daily, if not television, then I read the newspaper or look at what’s new on the web portals. Hate speech is not as noticeable when it’s intimidation of people through various news and mes-sages, but insults based on race, gender, religion, and other grounds are visibly present in the comment sections of portals,” says A.R., a student from Banja Luka. She adds that the highest level of discrimina-tion is directed at the LGBT community and in political speeches during election campaigns. What one might conclude is that even though the war is over and the weapons have been put aside, it sometimes still seems like we want to kill each other. That is why the media and everyone else need to work on eradicating hate speech, which, as we’ve seen in the 1990s, can be a deadly trigger.

Hate speech is more common than hate crime as it is en-couraged by the unregulated sphere of internet commu-nication.

Incitement of hate speech and violence are very present in Bosnian society and some figures are using it to achieve po-litical, states Vladana Vasić a legal representative for the Sa-rajevo Open Centre (SOC), which is member of the Coali-tion to Combat Hate Speech and Hate Crimes.

Hate speech is most often directed towards members of a different nationality or religion, ethnic minorities, LGBT people, and women.

For the situation to change, representatives of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) believe that there is a need to tighten the provisions of the penal code at the Entity level and in the Brčko District.

The current laws in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegov-ina (BiH) prohibit hate speech based on religion, race and nationality. Vasić states that these grounds are too few. In Republika Srpska and the Brčko District, hate crime is de-fined as any offense that is motivated by prejudice.

Hate speech is more common than hate crime as it is encour-aged by the unregulated sphere of internet communication.

The Coalition to Combat Hate Speech and Hate Crimes documents hate speech that appears online. The victims most commonly contact them online or via mail and very rarely decide to report it directly to the authorities for fear of the consequences. The Coalition clarifies that the victims are usually people who are in difficult economic or social sit-uations and already believe the majority has a negative opin-ion about them.

Zlatan is a Balkan Diskurs trained correspondent from Vareš. He is a student at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo. Zlatan is interested in activism in the field of human rights, especially the rights of minorities.

Insufficient Punishment of Hate Speech CrimesZlatan Likić (21), Vareš

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In a recent analysis, the Press Council of BiH stated that hate speech in the media has evolved. In the 90’s, the most common forms of hate speech were motivated by national and religious intol-erance. Today, hate speech is most often manifested through the denial of crimes, the affirmation of totalitarian doctrine, and different political and sexual orientations.

The former promoters of hate speech – politicians, religious leaders and journalists – have be-come more cautious. Nonetheless, their roles have been embraced by internet users who are hid-den behind false identities.

In their anonymity they feel safe and sound in their campaign of spreading intolerance, hate to-wards others, nationalistic rhetoric, ideological exclusiveness, xenophobia and homophobia.

Hate speech and hate crimes are not properly dealt with, even at the Law Faculty in Sarajevo. This field is generally left for debate and discussion through various trainings and seminars held by NGOs.

Bullying among peers must be recognized so as to avoid tragic cases with fatal consequences.

After the usual teasing in school, a 12-year-old from Jajce alienated himself from others. His works in art class said more than he wanted to. By using the color black and depict-ing figures that hung from ceilings, he expressed his sadness, anger and grief. His behavior wasn’t deemed problematic, and he has since committed suicide.

The boy’s adoptive parents provided us these details, but were not open for further discussion. Do we as a society recognize violence amongst peers or do we consider it as an acceptable part of growing up, which is supported by the explanation of ‘that’s how children get stronger’?

“The truth is that conflict between children has always exist-ed, but there are differences between children’s conflict and bullying. Bullying is long-term and chronic, with no real motive for conflict, and the victim is always weaker in some aspects than the perpetrator or group of perpetrators. That is why kids need the help of adults,” stated professor Gordana Buljan Flander.

As stated by Buljan Flander, even experts who work with children confirm a lack of reaction after receiving informa-tion related to violence among peers.

Professor Tanja Dejanović-Šagadin describes the term peer violence as abuse that is recurring or poses a recurring threat over a long period of time.

“It is important to understand that it is not just physical vi-olence, bullying is not just hitting but also other forms of violent behavior. In addition to physical violence (hitting, pushing, pulling, tripping, damaging or throwing of belong-ings, etc.) there are other forms of peer violence that aren’t as readily apparent. Bullying can take the form of gossiping, maliciously spreading of lies about you, insults, humiliation, making fun of and provoking you, ignoring, influencing oth-

Sara is a Balkan Diskurs trained cor-respondent from Jajce, Bosnia-Her-zegovina. In 2015 she was awarded second place in the Post-Conflict Research Center’s “Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition.”

Bullying and the Boy UnseenSara Velaga (21), Jajce

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ers not to talk to you, forcing you to do something you do not want to do, threats, and following you home,” explained Dejanović-Šagadin.

According to her, it is hard to determine the various forms of peer violence that tend to hide in spheres of life which are not easily accessible and noticeable, and it is these forms that often cause more damage than physical injuries.

For the 12-year-old who committed suicide, there was no help given. After everything happened, everyone tried to shift the blame away from themselves, justifying their inaction as an inability to foresee the events because, to them, the child seemed happy and socialized with others.

As is apparent from this example, it is necessary to work on preventative measures regarding peer violence among children because some consequences can never be erased.

An increasing number of NGOs, informal groups and individ-uals have started numerous initiatives with the common goal of fighting the prevalence of hate speech and discrimination in Bos-nia-Herzegovina.

According to non-governmental and international organizations, hate speech in Bosnia-Herzegovina is present in the media, schools and also in the public. Because of its comparison to freedom of expression as a fundamental human right, hate speech has become generally accepted as a form of expression and action.

Over the last few years, numerous initiatives have been launched by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), informal groups and indi-vidual activists related to the prevention of hate speech and discrimi-nation in Bosnia.

The initiative Supergrađani/Supergrađanke (Supercitizens) was launched by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2013. It brings together 19 coalitions that fight against hate speech, preju-dice, intolerance, discrimination and other forms of offensive behav-ior. The initiative’s website offers the possibility of reporting perceived instances of hate speech, offensive graffiti, physical violence or damage to property.

“Respect differences – Initiative Supergrađani/Supergrađanke”

Established in June 2013 by the municipal Youth council of Novo Sa-rajevo, the coalition “Zanemari razlike” (Ignore Differences) was cre-ated with the goal to fight hate speech and to create a society without prejudice, Their work focuses on preventive measures in response to

Elma Karahodžić is a Balkan Diskurs trained correspondent from Jelah, Bosnia-Herzegovina. She is current-ly pursuing her Masters degree in Bosnian Language and Literature at the University of Tuzla. Through her work she combines her two passions – writing and activism.

Taking a Stand against Hate SpeechElma Karahodžić (23), Jelah (Tešanj)

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negative phenomena occurring within the community, such as offensive graffiti or incidents derived from hate, which they publicly condemn as well as call on responsible others to do the same.

Mirela Geko from the coalition “Zanemari razlike” said that she is particularly pleased with the fact that the co-alition is trying new approaches each year to reach different groups of youth in an effort to solve local problems.

“Last year we particularly focused on sports and the reduction of hatred on the sporting fields. Male and female players stressed that they do not like the situation and that it bothers them,” stated Geko. She added that this year the coalition also started covering issues related to religion and faith in an effort to show youth that the sermons of every faith proclaim that it is vital to respect others and that we are all alike.

Geko believes the biggest challenge is to not allow politics to control and divide people in Bosnia, and people should be aware that our differences are, in fact, the root of our prosperity.

Student Eldar Komar, who is an activist for the Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina and a board member of the Youth Council of Stari Grad, believes that Bosnian society is in transition and is subject to influences, changes and problems. He explained that, as a result, people are not aware of the consequences of hate speech related not only to communication between members of different ethnicities or nationalities, but also to other aspects of life in Bosnia.

“Our country’s NGO sector, especially those organizations that deal with anti-discrimination policies and human rights, tries to prevent hate speech and its influence on the youth. However, it is not possible to solve this prob-lem without the full inclusion and participation of citizens and their awareness of this problem’s existence,” said Komar.

The Coalition to Combat Hate Speech and Hate Crime was established in 2013 to work towards improving the legal framework that is used to sanction cases of hate speech and hate crimes. The coalition is also committed to improving the implementation of existing laws. It has brought together 10 NGOs from across Bosnia that deal with promoting human rights and tolerance, as well as fighting hate speech and hate crime. The Center for Youth KVART in Prijedor can be credited for the successful work of this coalition.

“The motivation behind dealing with these problems is primarily due to the fact that members of our organiza-tions were, at one time or another, victims of hate speech and attacks from radical right wing parties and political representatives in our city,” stated Goran Zorić, Executive Director of KVART an organization that has imple-mented a series of actions to remove graffiti and hate speech from public spaces over the past two years.

“We can combine our actions to combat these phenomena by using existing channels and institutions that are responsible for these issues (for example, reporting incidents to the police or tracking the work of the prosecu-tor’s office regarding such cases), as well as create our own mechanisms for fighting against hate speech through the media, public awareness, and public condemnation of these phenomena. In the future, we seek to include additional competent institutions who will also assume responsibility in working to prevent hate speech in public spaces,” clarified Zorić.

Hate speech is a pervasive phenomenon in most countries, especially in post-conflict societies like Bosnia. It is almost impossible to eradicate it completely, but what is most necessary in the fight against hate speech, and what is emphasized by NGO representatives and activists, is for each of us to actively respond instead of turning a blind eye to the situation.

What do you do when you come across hate speech on the Inter-net? Here are a few suggested online resources to flag, report and combat hate speech, via our partners at the Council of Europe and local organizations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Council of Europe: No Hate - Hate Speech Watch

“Hate Speech Watch is an online database to monitor, share and discuss hate speech content of the Internet. Here you can link in any hate speech content form the Internet. Moderators monitor and facilitate the site, creating focus topics every month based on the main interest of the online community. Spe-cial “take action” features will also be available if the identified and discussed hate speech content requires further action. The perfect place debating and taking action!”

http://www.nohatespeechmovement.org/hate-speech-watch

Initiative Supergrađani/Supergrađanke (Super Citizens)

The “Super Citizens” initiative, supported by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Foundation for New Communications/Do-kukino, and Pauza, a Bosnian web development company, provides mapping tools to report hate speech across the country. According to the project website, “The reports are meant to drive community-led inquiry into the nature of conflict and exploration of possible response strategies to tackle the conflict. Local authorities and civil society co-alitions against hate utilize the data to define and prioritize the most pressing problems for the community and how best to address them.”

http://www.supergradjani.ba/

Press Council in Bosnia-Herzegovina/Vijeće za Štampu u BiH

The Press Council in Bosnia-Herzegovina describes itself as a “self-reg-ulatory body for print and on-line media.” Reports of hate speech or other violations of journalistic integrity may be submitted directly to the Press Council by post, fax or e-mail at info@vzs.ba.

http://english.vzs.ba/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti-cle&id=219&Itemid=21%E2%8C%A9=bs

Where to Report Hate Speech OnlinePointers from the Balkan Diskurs publication team

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Photo 1: Balkan Diskurs staff and trainees listen to a presentation on hate speech and journalistic integrity in Hotel Grand in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on 12 October 2015.

Photo 2: Trainees learn tips on documentary photography from local photographer Midhat Poturović on the third day of Balkan Diskurs training at Mediacentar Sarajevo.

Completed the

2ndYear of

Balkan Diskurs Training

12Local Correspondents

Trained in Citizen Journalism

A Growing Audience of

449+Twitter Followers

Facebook Reach over

8,442during October 2015

Training Sessions

1,047Likes on Facebook

and Counting

1Article Republished in

Bosnian Daily Dnevni Avaz

More than

10,595Social Media Impressions on

Our Hate Speech Series

Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC)Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

www.p-crc.orgfacebook.com/postconflictresearchcentertwitter.com/pcrcbih

33.0%Combined Growth in Face-book and Twitter Follows

since October 2015

More than

4,600Hate Speech Article Views on

BalkanDiskurs.com

This project was supported by the Council of Europe and delivered in partnership with the European Youth Foundation.