Sarajevo's political sycophants prioritize party interests exclusively; for Bosnia and Herzegovina's survival, we need leaders!

By: Rasim Belko

In the twilight of perhaps the deepest, most dangerous, and most devastating political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina since Dayton, we are witnessing a phenomenon that bodes ill for the survival or progress of this country. The international community has long had no doubt as to who produced the crisis, which narrowly avoided escalating into an open security incident not only for the region but also for Europe.

However, everything turned into a grotesque at one point. After Milorad Dodik, in agreement with Washington, was politically „cleansed“ and removed from the position of president of the RS entity, it was as if the collective memory of international actors simply vanished. Vanished as if the years of blockades, blackmail, threats, legal and institutional destruction had never existed.

For international factors, Dodik was suddenly no longer a problem, even though institutions remained paralyzed, reforms stalled, and the political consequences of his actions were left as an ambush for any potential progress.

They also forgot about his loyal partner Dragan Čović, who emerged unscathed from the entire chaos, almost rewarded with additional political weight. Although he provided significant logistics and political support for Dodik's destructive actions, the international factor did not even bat an eye.

Today, it is crystal clear that the international community, primarily the United States, has no problem negotiating with politicians whose methods directly threaten peace and stability in BiH, as well as beyond. Stability is a flexible concept for them, adaptable to current geopolitical interests.

But there is one group that, despite a decade of attacks, humiliation, and lessons, has learned absolutely nothing from all of this.

These are the leaders of parties from the so-called pro-Bosnian political corps. Leaders who continue to act as loyal pets of international „masters“, convinced that such behavior will bring them political alms and some short-term concessions.

Here is the best example. Ginkel flies in, makes a round of Sarajevo, and immediately the well-tuned choir of domestic political obedient servants begins, convincing the public that America's desire to sell us gas is actually our primary state interest. To the questions of how, why, at what price, and with what consequences, the answer was: „Just leave it, we have to please the Americans.“

This is the best proof that the Sarajevo political scene has been systematically stripped of the key characteristic of state-building leadership and the readiness to fight for the country, even if it means saying „no“ to both Washington and Brussels. Instead, they protect only their party sinecures, their budgets, and their chairs, and are ready to agree to any external interest, provided that international partners will push them towards power or provide them with political protection.

They have learned nothing from the examples of Dodik and Čović either. Because the very Dodik who cursed the American ambassador and insulted America for years has become their relevant partner in political combinations. And that is a fact, regardless of what was agreed upon and what the epilogue will be.

Only the utterly naive can believe that professional political nodding heads can uphold state interests. For the last ten years, we have witnessed the exact opposite, absolute subservience from Sarajevo to the international community, even when their actions are openly harmful to BiH.

And then comes the OHR's call to all heads of clubs in the House of Representatives to report. The only ones who do not show up are Dodik's representatives, demonstrating the paradox that precisely they, despite their dangerous policies, show a minimum of political dignity towards the role and sovereignty of BiH institutions. And the paradox is even greater when one knows that Sarajevo parties with significant political weight, alongside a handful of opposition members from the RS who practically mean nothing at the state level, duly respond to that meeting.

The Trojka (a coalition of parties) is rightly criticized for its unquestioning obedience to the OHR and its acceptance of power in the FBiH, formed in 2023 using the High Representative's favorite recipe, by violating the BiH Federation Constitution for 24 hours. But precisely because of this, parties that were harmed by this move or rejected it should show principled behavior and refuse the OHR's invitation.

This is how state-building political entities act. Because if the fate of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they themselves say, must be resolved exclusively within state institutions, then one does not go for instructions to the OHR building. One excludes the other.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and its pro-Bosnian electorate need leaders who will not shy away from confronting the international community when it is in the interest of the state, even if the price is political risk.

Otherwise, while we rightly criticize Dodik, and at the same time elect politicians whose only political skill is nodding and kneeling before foreign actors, then we truly have nothing good to hope for.