Aleksandra Pandurević in an interview with Patria: We need our Laura Kovesi

Aleksandra Pandurević is one of the most active deputies in the State Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was born in Sarajevo. She graduated from the Faculty of Entrepreneurial Business. She worked as a journalist for domestic and Belgrade media. Since 2010, she has been a member of the Main Board of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS). Five years later, she was elected a member of the party's Presidency. In the 2010 elections, she was elected as a deputy in the BiH Parliament, and then again in 2014.

In an interview with the Patria agency, she talks about criminalized politicians in BiH, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian judiciary, SDS ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH who have been rated as the best, as well as plans for the October elections.

You are one of the most active parliamentarians in the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament. You constantly warn about crime and openly point to political corruption. How many of your initiatives are supported, and does the judiciary, ex officio, react to some of your statements?      

- In the society we live in, which, unfortunately, lacks even the 'j' of a legal state, it has become pointless to point out what is obvious at every step – the epidemic scale of corruption. I know that the BiH Prosecutor's Office once opened an investigation ex officio, and that was in 2014, after my press conference on the procurement of ID and driver's license forms. There were some arrests, former ministers were questioned, the former chief prosecutor announced an indictment, and then everything was covered by oblivion. Is it normal for the former Minister of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska to say that over a billion marks were taken out of Birč and that local big shots were involved, and yet you have no indictment to this day!? Or, Unis Derventa, where the damage is also measured in hundreds of millions and due to which the Export Credit Agency failed, not to mention the dimensions of scandals in the energy sector, or the purchase of a building for the Independent System Operator in Pale.  

I cannot believe that in this country we do not have a single prosecutor who would feel a professional challenge and say: 'I will see this through to the end.' The first one to do so, I guarantee you, will be the hero of this country. Our Laura Kovesi. 

You went from journalism to politics. You know very well what political pressure on the media is and how far political arbitrariness can go. Do you feel pressure when you speak, for example, against corruption in Republika Srpska and directly criticize Milorad Dodik, because you live among these people?

- Absolutely. There have been many dirty and vile blows from Dodik's lackeys who, lacking personal dignity and the ability to conduct serious politics, to compete with results and programs, resort to wallowing in mud and smear campaigns. They turn everything into a quagmire. There were dirty billboards in East Sarajevo, flyers in Vlasenica, various threats. However, I think that mud always ends up sticking to the face of the one who throws it. The best example of this is RTRS, whose journalists are ashamed to walk through Banja Luka today, and cameramen remove markings from their cameras due to the contempt shown by the people of Banja Luka towards RTRS. 

Some non-governmental organizations have spoken with political parties about BiH's development programs in the past period. Through these discussions, they confirmed that SDS's development and reform program is exceptional. What does this program contain in a nutshell?

- Our program is a program of renewal and progress for Republika Srpska and has three main goals: a higher standard of living, employment and stopping emigration, and a legal and just Republika Srpska. We have precisely defined what we will do and how within 100 days, what within one, two, and four years. The first law we will pass will be the Law on Investigating the Origin of Property and the new Law on Conflict of Interest. The economic revival of Srpska will be initiated by relieving the economy through tax reductions, stimulating domestic industry, and cutting regulations, which will enable new employment, as well as higher salaries and pensions. Economic growth proportionally brings with it an increase in the standard of living. A significant, perhaps the most significant resource of Srpska, which is currently held captive by private interests, is its energy potential, which can be developed through a proper strategy and investments. Young people here must have a perspective and a secure future, and pensioners a dignified old age, because if we don't do this, this will remain an empty space, the whole of BiH. Of course, as a third goal, it is necessary to restore trust in institutions. Everyone must be equal before the law, instead of only those who steal 100 KM being held accountable, while those who steal millions are 'respected citizens' above the law. 

SDS has two state ministers who are considered to be doing the best job in their positions. Primarily Mirko Šarović, and then Dragan Mektić. However, you have often criticized them as well. Is constructive criticism of party cadres a recipe for success?

- At the end of the mandate, I can proudly say that we are satisfied because our ministers have worked excellently and even exceeded our expectations. We have never had any objections to their work itself. Perhaps we have disagreed a few times on the way something should be done. It is impossible not to admire Minister Šarović for the energy, effort, and work he has invested not only in the work of his ministry but of the entire Council of Ministers, which has brought concrete economic results. Our Minister Mektić is temperamental and always goes with his heart, but he is a great minister and a good, incorruptible, and honest man. However, Šarović's calmness, wisdom, persistence, and Mektić's temperament and heart have proven to be a good combination.

Is the assessment correct that SDS is strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina and consequently strengthening Republika Srpska within BiH? Milorad Dodik and SNSD seem to have a different concept - they are destroying BiH and undermining Republika Srpska?

- In the past three years, SDS has represented the interests of Republika Srpska in the institutions of BiH. Our officials have defended the interests of Srpska in a dignified and decisive manner, worked on concrete life issues, and promoted a policy of stability and peace. Those who lack work results resort to cheap populism – some attack, others defend, while hundreds of people leave every day. Today, the measure of patriotism is people's standard of living, the quality of healthcare services, and security. Today, patriotism means retaining the population here, and the greatest patriots are people who open workplaces. Our prime minister boasts about a lower unemployment rate and an increased average age, but she doesn't see the lines in front of consulates and embassies. The number of unemployed is lower because people are moving. The average age is higher because young people are leaving en masse. These are devastating indicators, not data to brag about.

Does society in Bosnia and Herzegovina have the strength to move away from the politics and rhetoric of the '90s? According to all domestic and international reports, BiH is constantly regressing with such policies. Meanwhile, the asset declarations of the 'usual nationalists' are improving?

- It is frustrating that we have spent a third of our lifespan still dealing with the past, not the future. That's why our future is slipping away. However, those who pursue confrontational politics cooperate behind the scenes and have common profitable businesses. It is clear here that Dragan Čović wants the deconstruction of Dayton. And perhaps I can understand him. But I cannot understand Milorad Dodik, who supports this idea, even though he knows that the deconstruction of Dayton is a Damocles sword hanging over Republika Srpska. Dodik's subservient attitude towards Croatian dictates, to the detriment of Republika Srpska, is strange. Ivan Čermak received more from Republika Srpska than all Serbian generals combined, and as a culmination, we witness President Dodik equating Jasenovac and Bleiburg. I am deeply convinced that Dodik's reasons for such behavior are exclusively personal, business-related, by which Zagreb holds him in its grip.

According to some estimates, your rivals in SNSD are experiencing a sharp decline in support. What do you expect from the election results?

- This will primarily be a battle for two key positions – the president of Srpska and the member of the Presidency from RS. In both cases, I am confident in the victory of the SZP candidates. Our president Vukota Govedarica has a significant advantage over the SNSD candidate Željka Cvijanović. He is honest, young, without scandals behind him, and a symbol of the change that Republika Srpska craves. On the other hand, Ms. Cvijanović is a symbol of political corruption and the founder of the 'papak' affair. She is synonymous with the most unsuccessful government in the history of RS, responsible for the collapse of three banks, a poor standard of living, mass emigration, and several unsolved murders in Banja Luka.

The choice between Mr. Ivanić and Dodik is also simple. It is a choice between policies of security, peace, and prosperity, on the one hand, and confrontation, insecurity, uncertainty, and emigration, on the other. I must say that I do not understand at all why some media consider Dodik the favorite. He was also an opponent of Ivanić four years ago. Dodik then had 303,000 votes, Cvijanović 310,000, because Bosniaks also voted for her, and Ivanić 317,000. I would not say that Dodik is more popular today than four years ago, while Ivanić has certainly not only retained his voters but has also increased their number through good work. After all, Ivanić is a statesman, and Dodik is a juggler and a gambler.