Bogićević: Concerts and prayers for Hague indictees speak volumes about the organizers!

Bogić Bogićević, a Bosnian politician and former member of the Presidency of SFRY, spoke in the show Pošteno about their heroes and criminals. Between two verdicts. Between ZAVNOBiH and AVNOJ. A man who stood up to generals. 

When asked if there are similarities between ZAVNOBiH and Dayton, he says: "There are similarities only in that the continuity of the state was maintained, there was no break of 400-500 years, but there are no other similarities, because in ZAVNOBiH, for the first time, people from BiH decided their own fate; before and after that, the fate of BiH was decided at the Berlin Congress, Versailles, and in Dayton."

We didn't decide our fate in Dayton?

- Well, how could we decide when everything was served to us, the Constitution was written, and through pressure, or rather beatings, they told us to come, talk, sign, now shake hands, have lunch, and go back home. And we are sending 60,000 NATO troops to implement this. No, foreigners are not to blame; they created the General Framework Agreement for Peace, which implies that those with reason can change and adapt it to the living conditions of the citizens and peoples of BiH and take what is good. That did not happen, it cannot happen, and Dayton would not have happened if we were not to blame. We are most responsible; we were slaughtering and killing each other, we were creating mass graves and concentration camps for people; foreigners never did that – says Bogićević.

Who are we?

- The citizens of BiH, those who allowed themselves to bring fascism back to BiH, and fascism is one people, one leader, one army, two schools under one roof, division into ours, yours, and theirs; these are all forms of fascism that we thought had died out. So, the people who accepted that national chauvinistic ideology are responsible for all the consequences we had, including the war. We must be honest for once, and it is up to our voters. I know that we only have a say when we are marking the ballot and never again, because it is much better to turn my 'I' into our 'we' and delegate everything to our leader, and let him decide for me – emphasized Bogićević.

When it comes to the character of the past war, Bogićević is clear.

- If one or two internationally recognized countries attack another country, and in this case, Serbia and Croatia attacked BiH, that is aggression. However, it was not just aggression in BiH, because if one ethnic group targets another ethnic group in Sarajevo from Pale, that is an inter-ethnic conflict within it, but it cannot be characterized as a civil war in any way – Bogićević is of the opinion.

He also touched upon the verdict against Ratko Mladić, sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as the reactions we could hear from the BiH entity of RS and Serbia.

- I read something, but let's be clear, I wonder if Milorad Dodik is sincere now or then when he sent Karadžić and Mladić to The Hague before he took over the position of Prime Minister in Bijeljina, with the full support of the international community. Secondly, so that there are no misunderstandings, since he says that Ratko Mladić is of the Serbian people, meaning all those who are Serbs by birth, including myself, that he committed crimes in my name, I would like to say that Ratko Mladić is not my hero and that he could not commit crimes in my name.

My problem is that we have dedicated so much time to a man who is a thousandth in the chain of responsibility for what happened here. The project of the Serbian elite to create a "Greater Serbia" or, as they say, a "Greater Yugoslavia" without other peoples, has been ongoing for 300 years. The SANU Memorandum came first, then Milošević, then Karadžić and Mladić. Ratko Mladić represents shame and disgrace to me. My hero is Srđan from Trebinje, who gave his life for another, for his friend who is not a Serb – emphasized Bogićević.

We have at least three truths, Bogićević adds: one is elation for the life sentence, the second is partial satisfaction because genocide for cities was not included and the court's foolishness in the explanation "that if he had killed a few more, it would have been genocide," and the third is the denial of victims and the Court and the glorification of Ratko as a hero.

- There can only be one truth, and it will be sought for years. I see these people; I want to believe that they are the generations to come. They are coming. We are still having a dialogue where I and you were at war. Someone must come and ask us where we were and why we destroyed their country. There is a sentence recorded by Prof. Repovac: "In BiH today, there is more fear of life than of death" – emphasized Bogićević.

He also added that "every verdict, including tomorrow's, means new stress for people, for the victims above all."

- The victims here are constant; everything else changes, including the mood and attitude towards Hague indictees and crimes. The stress is greatest for the victims, for those who watch, and even for the families of the Hague indictees – added Bogićević.
On the eve of tomorrow's verdict for Prlić and others, and regarding prayers and concerts, Bogićević says:

- Expected. If prayers help, if concerts help, I have nothing against it. It speaks about them as organizers, because the Hague indictees were in the roles of those who organize this. But, without prejudging the verdict, we should wait, and again it will be new tensions, new stresses, and I fear another two years lost – added Bogićević.

Watch the entire guest appearance here