Red Goebbels in the PR team of the FBiH Prime Minister - turning defeat into success: Nikšić burns Igman with Serbian gunpowder for Čović's interest!

By: Rasim Belko

Little has gone right for the current head of BiH diplomacy and president of People and Justice Elmedin Konaković during his term, but he has clearly succeeded in one thing. What he has succeeded in is not diplomacy, nor problem-solving, but perception manipulation. He managed to convince partners from SDP and NS that marketing, spinning, and presenting “successes” are more important than actual results. And he is good at it – in the world of politics, all this is possible, while facts are ignored.

Yesterday, the PR team of Nermin Nikšić followed this pattern. The public of Bosnia and Herzegovina was presented with a story that the Prime Minister of FBiH allegedly personally negotiated with Aleksandar Vučić and secured the continuation of gunpowder supplies for the temporarily shut-down Igman from Konjic. However, the facts show something completely different. Nikšić is neither a diplomatic genius nor did he agree to anything. Patria agency sources from Igman confirmed last week that the continuation of supplies is expected after the Serbian Government session on September 9 – meaning, everything was decided by the Belgrade Government, not the Prime Minister of FBiH. Because that same Serbian Government made the decision to embargo the export of military equipment and weapons in June.

And there it is – Nikšić knows this information and decides to use it for his own glorification. Following the example of his partner Konaković, he boasts about something that is not his success. Today, the management of Igman, which is completely under SDP's control, is helping him with this, thanking him for allegedly “lifting the embargo.” The truth is irrelevant in regime propaganda, and the facts relentlessly show a different picture. Igman alone lost about 15 million KM on the stock market, with share value falling from 195 to 169 KM.

Nikšić and his management have not explained how this serious loss for a strategically important company will be compensated. Likewise, they have not clarified to the public the actual losses incurred during the suspension of Igman's operations, a company that has contracts with strictly defined deadlines and bank guarantees that are activated in case of non-fulfillment of contractual obligations. What will happen if the buyers initiate lawsuits? Both the Prime Minister and Igman's management are silent on this.

It is even more absurd that the production of gunpowder, which has not been a secret recipe for centuries, is once again being called into question. The state, with so many companies in the defense industry, has not ensured an alternative supply, and production has remained paralyzed. The FBiH Government touched upon Vitezit, but only according to the old pattern: when the pressure subsides, they block the start of production.

The question is how, from Belgrade's June decision until the depletion of stocks, the FBiH Government and Igman did not find an alternative. There are several possibilities for procuring gunpowder in the wider region, even with increased demand in Europe. The question is also why, given global conflicts and the needs of the defense industry, all production possibilities – not only Vitezit but also other factories – were not explored earlier.

Let us recall, Igman operated during the war and did not use Serbian gunpowder then. It is unacceptable and outrageous that the Prime Minister of FBiH boasts about a “success” that comes after the cessation of production, and which is still not long-term. Considering Serbia's ambitions and the “Greater Serbia” project, who guarantees that Belgrade will not stop the supply of gunpowder again soon? In the meantime, Igman has not stopped exporting casings for the Serbian industry, so the Government and Igman's management should explain why they did not react with reciprocal measures.

What has long been rumored about Igman sheds new light on this crisis; it is not impossible that it was deliberately prolonged. HDZ and Dragan Čović have set their sights on Igman, wanting control over part or all of the company. Nikšić was tasked with transferring part of the production to Mostar and failed. The beginning of the problems? Allegedly, certain shareholders of Igman were forced to sell their shares. Croatian politics clearly targets the defense industry of the Federation, not only for profit but also for its strategic importance in case of conflict.

The question remains whether Nikšić, his line minister Vedran Lakić, and the obedient cadres in the management of the defense industry do not know what they are doing or are consciously leading the companies to ruin, so they become easy prey for “investors” who have been targeting these firms for a long time. Today it is Igman, previously “Pretis,” and others are also on the radar.

It would be wiser for Nikšić to come to his senses instead of presenting political-economic defeats as successes through marketing propaganda. Under his rule, Igman stopped for the first time. And that is a defeat, both for the Government and the entire Federation, and for the SDP's management of Igman. No matter how much they propagate success with Konaković's propaganda matrix.

Propaganda is powerful, but reality is relentless. And the truth about Igman, the losses, and the irresponsible management of the defense industry will only catch up with us through the consequences that follow.

The Schmidt-imposed Government of the Federation has done many bad things; the collapse of the defense industry is one of the last steps pushing the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards 1992, when we had to face tanks with primitively made Molotov cocktails.

Is that something to praise, Nikšić? Perhaps some Goebbels has been hired with a party membership card in the PR team of the FBiH Government, but even if it's from such people, it's too much!