Bećirović: Insist on interstate relations, not mono-ethnic assemblies

(Patria) - Following the discussion on the upcoming Easter assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the BiH entity of RS and the announced meeting of Bosniak political representatives, the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH Denis Bećirović has spoken out.

"In the third decade of the 21st century, European and other peoples live organized in states. Bosnia and Herzegovina and other states in the region should build good interstate, not partial inter-ethnic relations, and therefore it is very important that this unavoidable and elementary fact is respected in communication with other states. No political initiatives can replace the essential fact that states exist in clearly defined relations of international or interstate law. They are its equal subjects with their organs and institutions – no single nation is that," states Bećirović.

As he says, for politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, it is very important to distinguish the legal-political dimension of relations between independent and internationally recognized, sovereign states, from the cultural-historical and ethnic-religious dimension of communication among peoples in different states.

"Relations between states should be regulated in a manner befitting neighbors and member states of the United Nations, not on inter-ethnic grounds. It is time for everyone in the region to abandon medieval models and open a new era of equal interstate communication and cooperation befitting the 21st century. No mono-ethnic assemblies of peoples can replace the role of states and state authorities. With their rights, obligations and institutions, the equal subjects in international relations are exclusively states – no single nation is that. Therefore, the formula for the future is not Serbian, Croatian, Bosniak or any other assemblies, but exclusively respect for international law and interstate cooperation on equal grounds," emphasizes Bećirović.

He notes that the announced holding of a large Easter assembly of Serbia and an administrative-territorial unit located within the independent, sovereign and indivisible state of Bosnia and Herzegovina would represent an undermining of the modern UN system and the fundamental international principles regulating relations among UN member states.

"It is our obligation to fight against this, and not to justify in any way this conduct of the Republic of Serbia. It is time for neighboring Serbia to stop abusing parallel ties with the BiH entity of RS and start respecting the sovereignty of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina," concluded Bećirović.