Bosnia and Herzegovina is at war!

Written for Patria: Dr. sc. Enver Išerić

Bosnia and Herzegovina is at war. And with the same intensity as at the beginning of the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only the means have changed. The actors have also changed. The tactics have also changed. Bosnia and Herzegovina and its constitutional order are under attack from all sides.

All available propaganda tools are being used in these attacks, in a similar way to how Goebbels, one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates, used them.

An attempt is being made to portray Bosnia and Herzegovina as an impossible state, as a confederation, as a state that only came into existence in Dayton. The right of peoples to self-determination is being promoted, invoking international legal acts, but of course, misinterpreting them. The latest such anti-state activity is contained in Milorad Dodik's opinion piece, titled The Opinion Piece of the President of Srpska: The Dayton Agreement and Resolution 2625, dated 12.02.2024, published by Glas Srpske, but also by many other media outlets.

The mentioned text is full of intrigues, lies, schemes, and deceptions, but which can significantly influence the views and opinions of the average and legally uneducated citizen. This text actually represents a prelude or introduction to what Milorad Dodik and the authorities of Republika Srpska intend to undertake. What is also clear, as noted by the respected professor Nurko Pobrić, is that Dodik is not the author, but merely the signatory of this text. However, it is incredible that the authors of this text show such a degree of "ignorance" about Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Dayton Agreement, and international law.

They claim: "Certainly, Annex 4, titled 'Constitution of BiH,' is the most important, which established the constitutional and legal structure of the state community by which Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH (crea)ted post-war 'Bosnia and Herzegovina,' without any definition of its state determination and organization."

This is the first lie in that text. Nowhere in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina does it state that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a "state community." The Constitution states, gentlemen, the following: "The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose official name is from now on 'Bosnia and Herzegovina,' continues its legal existence under international law as a state, with an internal structure modified by this Constitution, and with existing internationally recognized borders.“

Second lie: "Therefore, Dayton BiH is neither a republic, nor a federation (which it cannot be, as it already has a federation within it), nor a federal state, nor anything else that exists in constitutional and legal practice. It is closest to a confederation,"
The authors of the text should, or rather must, know that for a state to be a republic, it is not necessary for it to be named as such. All states that have a president (presidency) at their head, elected by citizens in elections, have a republican form of government. Their assertion that Bosnia and Herzegovina is closest to a confederation in terms of its state structure is completely incorrect, because only independent states join a confederation, and the entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina are by no means that. And they never will be.

Third lie: they claim that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a "result" of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and they quote the preamble of the Constitution "Guided by the goals and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance with international law, ..."
They, the authors of the text, also refer to the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. They forget, not by accident, but in a Goebbels-like manner, that this is a declaration that regulates relations in the international community between states, not between some entities or territorial units within states under another name.

They refer to some of the principles from the Declaration, while skipping principle 2. The duty to settle international disputes by peaceful means, principle 4. The duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of states, and principle 7. The duty to fulfill in good faith the obligations undertaken. They have ignored these principles because they do not suit the authorities of the RS entity and their principals from Belgrade.

Their invocation of the right of peoples to self-determination, in order to achieve the ultimate goal, the secession of a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RS), is completely unfounded. The right to self-determination, according to the Declaration they invoke, implied the right of states, or peoples, that were under colonial rule, to independently decide how to further develop their economic and socio-political life, i.e., whether to opt for independent states or to live in a community with the state under whose colonial rule they were.

As for the right of Bosnian Serbs and their right to self-determination, for those who still don't understand, they should read the opinion of the Badinter Commission, which answered Slobodan Milošević's question as to whether Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina have the right to self-determination. The answer was "the right to self-determination cannot lead to the alteration of borders that existed at the time of independence, and these borders acquire the character of borders protected by international law and can only be changed by mutual agreement.

The Commission also pointed out that the Serb population in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia should enjoy all rights recognized to minorities by the applicable conventions, as well as national international guarantees in accordance with the principles of international law".

It is interesting that the authors of the aforementioned text do not mention Serbia and Croatia as signatories of the Dayton Peace Agreement anywhere. Is that also a coincidence? It is not a coincidence, because if they had done so, they would have had to answer where those neighboring countries got the right to sign a peace agreement with the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which, as Milorad Dodik claims, there was a civil war. And the answer is simple – they committed aggression against our country.

And finally, the authors draw a comparison with the SFRY and its disintegration, stating: "Since there was not enough readiness, determination to apply the constitutional system of Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina), then, of course, it naturally led to that logical disintegration which, in my opinion, was inevitable. I return to this again - state communities created in certain historical circumstances must be prepared to reaffirm the reason for their common life at the moment when those historical circumstances change. The processes have gone too far, and alternatives were necessary. It was necessary to think about what if we no longer recognize that country (Bosnia and Herzegovina) as ours, then what? I think it was logical that the alternative was an independent state".

To this, one can only answer as follows: Bosnia and Herzegovina, under special historical circumstances (aggression by Serbia and Croatia), with the mediation of the USA, reshaped its internal organization. Since this is the result of a situation created by force, and international law does not recognize such situations, in certain historical circumstances, such a situation should be abolished and the results of aggression, war crimes, and genocide eliminated.

But the biggest absurdity is stated at the very beginning of the text signed by Milorad Dodik: "The Dayton Agreement, or the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as its official name is, is one of the most important documents of international law created after World War II."

It is not an international document that applies, gentlemen, to the international community. It is an international agreement between the aggressor and the attacked state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and can only serve as an example of the poor application of international law and the UN Charter, which you so often invoke, when resolving international disputes.

Just one more look at the HDZ's proposal for amending the Election Law, by which they, and as far as can be concluded, the Troika also supports it, would ensure that only Croats, and specifically in certain cantons, elect a Croat as a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article II 2. of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates: "International Standards The rights and freedoms set forth in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its Protocols shall be directly applicable in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These instruments shall have priority over all other laws."

The European Court of Human Rights has also determined in its seven judgments that human rights from the European Convention have been violated, and which (Article 1, Protocol 12) stipulates: "The enjoyment of any rights provided for by law shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status."

Article X 2. of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates: "Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms No amendment to this Constitution may eliminate or diminish any of the rights and freedoms referred to in Article II of this Constitution, nor may this provision be amended.

Therefore, even the constitution cannot diminish the rights provided by the European Convention. And Čović wants to do it by law.

They want to portray us Bosniaks as a nation that discriminates against other nations and citizens. And these are Goebbels' methods. You will not succeed in these deceptions. We will never discriminate against anyone, but we will not allow anyone to discriminate against us, as the most numerous nation.

We should be aware of what modern tools are being used in the attack on our country. It is only unclear whether the Troika is aware of this. Or do they think that these attacks can be countered, just as we countered the strongest military force in the region in 1992, wearing sneakers. Boots on your feet, gentlemen, and weapons in your hands. Boots are a sign of determination, and weapons are the knowledge we will use to counter deceptions and lies and to defend the country.