Edvin Kanka Ćudić

Edvin Kanka Ćudić (Cyrillic: Едвин Канка Ћудић; born Edvin Ćudić; December 31, 1988), is a Bosnian human rights activist,martial artist, journalist and political analyst who is best known as the leader of the UDIK, an organisation campaigning for human rights and reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia.

He works in subjects including human rights, cultural memory, transitional justice and democracy.

Born into a Bosniak family in Brčko, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina). He grew up in Gračanica and Brčko, studied in Sarajevo and Istanbul, lives in Sarajevo. He graduated in 2012 from the University of Sarajevo with a degree in journalism. In 2018 in the same university he earned a master's degree in political science. He identifies as Yugoslav.

2003–present: Martial Arts

At the age of 14, Ćudić joined the Academy of Martial Arts of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, (a member of the International Martial Arts Federation - IMAF Europe), led by Boško Vidović in Brčko. In the Academy, Ćudić trained for 8 years and earned a black belt in Jūjutsu. In 2017 in the same Academy he earned a black belt in Jūdō.

From 2006 to 2008 he was a Jūjutsu instructor at the martial arts schools belonging to the Academy of Martial Arts of the Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Donji Žabar and in Gornji Zovik near Brčko.

2008–present: Journalism

As a journalist, he has collaborated with many regional media outlets, including Monitor, Peščanik, Danas, Preporod, Sabah, e-novine, Republika, Slobodna Bosna, Dnevni avaz and Behar. In addition to these media, he has workedin various radio andtelevision stations. He wrote more than 150 reports from proceedings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. In order to advance peace and reconciliation processes in the former Yugoslavia, Ćudić has collaborated with local and foreign experts, artists, politicians, journalists, as well as professors around the world. Some of them are: Roy Gutman, Ron Haviv, Stjepan Mesić, Florence Hartmann, Robert King, Rémy Ourdan etc.

In 2015 in cooperation with Jusuf Hafizović, he published two books including his newspaper interviews: Novinari o ratu u BiH and Političari o ratu u BiH, on testimonies of war journalists and politicians about Bosnian war.

In 2017, Ćudić has signed the Declaration on the Common Language of the Bosniaks, Croats, Serbsand Montenegrins.

2013–present: Human rights

In 2013, Edvin Kanka Ćudić founded and become coordinator of the UDIK. It aimed to gather facts, documents, and data on genocide, war crimes, and human rights violations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Yugoslavia. UDIK works across national boundaries to assist post-conflict societies within the region reestablish the rule of law and deal with past human rights abuses. As a coordinator of the UDIK, he publishes and presents to the public documents on war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also works on mapping monuments to victims of wars in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Ćudić began his activism in UDIK with public commemorations dedicated to the victims of past war in the former Yugoslavia (1991-2001). At that time, some war crimes were marked for the first time in Sarajevo, as well as in other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. These commemorations traced Ćudić to one of the most famous human rights activists in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2015 he created the concept of the Central register of memorials of the Yugoslav wars (1991-2001) with the aim of stopping manipulation and autovictimization of the victims of war crimes in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as well as preventing the possibility of revising of the past wars in that area. The Central register of memorials contains a collection of over 3.500 monuments dedicated to soldiers and civilians who died in wars from 1991 to 2001; in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. Register also includes examples of the controversial memorials that were built after 1991 in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and which glorify fascism and hatred among the people of the former Yugoslavia. The Central register of memorials of the Yugoslav wars (1991-2001) is still the only register of memorials to victims of the Yugoslav wars on the territory of the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

In 2019, Ćudić was elected in Regional Council of the Coalition for RECOM. The Coalition for RECOM is a network of civil society organizations from post-Yugoslav countries which advocate for the establishment of RECOM – the Regional Commission tasked with establishing the facts about all Victims of war Crimes and other serious human rights violations committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia from 1 January 1991 to 31 December 2001.

He was often the subject of threats from homophobic people and nationalists of all ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In February 2014 he came to the public during the unrest in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a coordinator of the protests in the Brčko District, he received over 100 threats of death. In July he was threatened by Dino Šimunjak, a volunteer in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict who publicly told him: "You will not get out of this, Ćudić".

In February 2015, in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Sarajevo, while UDIK commemorated the anniversary of the Štrpci massacre, the group of hooligans attacked Edvin Kanka Ćudić. On that occasion, they said that activists must go to commemorate crimes in Banja Luka, alluding to the UDIK's marking of crimes in Kravica in January 2015.In May,near the UDIK's office in Sarajevo, he was attacked with another UDIK activist. Just a few days later, a similar attack took place on the same site. Ambassador of the United States of America to B&H, Maureen Cormack, reacted and said that it was unacceptable to attack stones a human rights activist in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In October, in front of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Sarajevo in Sarajevo, while UDIK commemorated the anniversary of the crimes in Kazani, one hooligan try to physically attack Edvin Kanka Ćudić. A police reacted, but did not prosecute.

In February 2017 Ćudić was attacked again in Sarajevo, along with two other UDIK activists. The attack took place near the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina building. On that occasion, young men attacked him with stones and called him Chetnik (right-wing nationalist Serb). In March, unknown persons vandalized his car parked near the UDIK's office in Sarajevo.

In April 2019 Ćudić supported Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first LGBT Pride parade in interview for internet portal Source.ba. Due to the misinterpretation of the interview, and especially in the part relatingto the women rights in the Arab world, he received a large number of threats (including death treats) from the Islamic foundamentalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sandžak. Fundamentalists also claimed that he is one of the organizers of the Parade. A few days later, UDIK denied that it is organizer of the Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first LGBT pride, but UDIK supports it and shows solidarity to all whose human rights are evidently deprived. In July, Ćudić and other UDIK's activist were attacked by hooligans near the UDIK's office in Sarajevo. On that occasion, the attackers called him as The Fags' leader. Ćudić made photos of the attackers and the case was reported to Novo Sarajevo Police Department. Police did not take the photos into consideration during the investigation.

The Federal Ministry of Interior of the Bosnia and Herzegovina have never prosecuted the attackers.

• Taj maj '92., Brčko, 2012
• Ne u naše ime: s one strane srbijanskog režima, Sarajevo, 2019

In 2012, the Bosnian poet Adem Garić dedicated him a poem I ne treba da šutiš (And you do not need to be silent). In 2014 and 2018, in the biographical lexicon Ko je ko u BiH (Who is Who in B&H), Edvin Kanka Ćudić is listed among the most significant people in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, which through their works and actions contribute to a better B&H and who make this country a happier place. In 2019, the French sculptor Mirza Morić created a memorial dedicated to the killed civilians in Brčko (1992-1995). On that occasion, Morić engraved the story Možda bi trebalo da ih mrzim (Maybe I should hate them) on the memorial, written by Edvin Kanke Ćudić. The monument was installed in Paris.

Awards and nominations