Brothers by division will not give up

Written for NAP: Alija Behram, journalist and publicist

Dragan Čović has shown, for the umpteenth time, that he is a perfect master of deception and changing the subject. While the credible domestic public loyal to BiH, including the most relevant views of leading countries of the international community, points out that Milorad Dodik, by changing the subject and claiming to be "saving Dayton" - is actually carrying out a classic coup d'état in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Čović, in an interview with Hrvatski tjednik, tries to convince us that he "sees a bigger problem in Sarajevo than in Banja Luka!" It is good that he expressed his political positions in this way - robustly and directly, because by doing so, he has practically exposed himself, confirming what we have known for a long time and see every day: common destructive intentions towards Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He is fully aware, and does not even hide it, that he is actually covering Milorad Dodik's back with his approach. The HDZ-SNSD coalition is, in fact, a long-term policy conceived on the Mostar - Banja Luka route even before the meager and shaky coalition at the state level with the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Trojka was agreed upon. In circles close to Čović in Mostar, we hear undisguised, lustful interpretations of such a policy - Dodik, like a powerful and persistent excavator, will demolish and pave the way for the destruction of the state, and we will "take what is ours" along the already paved path. As they say in Herzegovina - the snow doesn't fall to cover the hill, but for every beast to show its tracks. Therefore, three federal units - Bosniak, Croat, and Serb - would provide stability, says Dragan Čović, calling for a new organization of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As if he hasn't heard the quite serious international qualifications of Milorad Dodik's behavior and his destructive political clique, who want to take BiH back thirty years, as if nothing has been built or happened in BiH in the meantime, thus - to the bare "Dayton parameters", Dragan Čović, without a shred of reservation or restraint, even claims "that Milorad Dodik's behavior is understandable!" Along with this, he will, of course, allude again to the formation of the "third entity", trying to send a dose of cheerfulness, optimism, and salvation to the public: "this is not a proposal for dismantling, but for stabilizing BiH", Čović tells us. In an even clearer picture, which he serves us in an interview for Hrvatski tjednik (the organ of the right-wing that recently described the death of Pope Francis as the departure of a Catholic Church leader not worth a single Croatian tear"), Dragan Čović - stone-cold, concludes that BiH can have long-term stability if it is organized into three federal units!

"If we want a functional BiH, we must respect reality. Three federal units - Bosniak, Croat, and Serb - would provide stability, stop outvoting, and allow everyone to feel safe within the common state," said Čović.

The leader of HDZ BiH, without any reservations, and of course without serious argumentation, repeats the old, worn-out mantra in the interview that Croats are "the most endangered constituent people in BiH", even though, as he points out, they "consistently respect and preserve the constitutional order and the principles of the Dayton Agreement". While Milorad Dodik, with his devoted, foaming clique, like an elephant in a china shop, destroys and announces the death of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Čović, as an unquestionable partner in this inglorious campaign, helps him as best he can. From Mostar, he adds fresh ammunition when he accuses Bosniak politicians of "systematically trying to dismantle BiH as a state of three constituent peoples and turn it into a national state of one (read: Bosniak) people". Čović, thereby, completely uncritically and morbidly defends his Banja Luka partner by explaining that Dodik's behavior is even understandable "as a reflection of fear of what is happening to Croats in BiH!"

"Dodik's reactions are a consequence of what he sees in the Federation of BiH. If Bosniaks can choose representatives for Croats, it is logical that Serbs wonder when they will experience the same. His behavior is a political reflex, perhaps excessive, but understandable," Čović told Hrvatski tjednik. For the leader of HDZ BiH, the reform of the Election Law is the most important political issue for Croats in BiH in order to "prevent outvoting and ensure 'legitimate representation of constituent peoples', especially in the election of members of the BiH Presidency". According to Čović, the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina must be built on "agreement, respect, and equality, not on the domination of the majority".

In numerous reactions to the interview, Čović's definitive revelation of his cards clearly shows that his loyalty to Milorad Dodik and the policy he leads through his SNSD will last. Nebojša Vukanović hit the nail on the head on Wednesday by claiming that Milorad Dodik is, in fact, "a useful idiot, a ram that Čović will use to the end to get the third entity!"

The masks have finally fallen: Čović and Dodik have, each in their own way, actually confirmed what we all know: they have identical views on the functioning and future of BiH, and their goal is common - weakening the state of BiH at all costs, in favor of its definitive division into three entities. And after that - referendums, in favor of old, worn-out, but still alive war projects from the nineties, without Bosnia for a Greater Serbia and a Greater Croatia. We are yet to see what the reactions of Bosniak politicians and parties of the ruling coalition will be to the views of the "brothers by division". It has long been clear to the citizens that the state, which was bloodily defended and preserved in the war, is once again facing trials.