DOCUMENTS DON'T LIE: Ošap-Gaćanović insists on not using the term 'national monument of BiH', Kapidžić and Mikulić against!

By: Amra Vrabac

Member of the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments of BiH Faruk Kapidžić has come under fire from Commission member Anđelina Ošap-Gaćanović, who accuses him of being the one who supported the abolition of the phrase "Bosnia and Herzegovina" in decisions on national monuments. She also pointed out that there is an audio recording, and Kapidžić spoke about this situation in his guest appearance on the show Jutro za sve on BHRT today.

"It's true, there is an audio recording that she obtained completely illegally, and I hope that audio recording will be published. Yes, it's true. It was at one session for one decision, and it was after that same person blocked it for a full year and a half by not allowing any decision to be adopted if it stated 'national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina'. It was an attempt by both me and Zoran (note: Mikulić) to unblock it. When we realized that it was being used to achieve the Greater Serbian project, we did not want to sign the minutes. And those minutes have not been signed to this day. And the decision we adopted and that audio recording are not disputed as having happened that way. But if I wanted that, why didn't I sign the minutes, and I still don't allow them to be signed today. We immediately informed the Presidency of BiH and the OHR about this case and are awaiting their statement. If the Presidency of BiH says it's okay to declare monuments without BiH after 20 years, both Zoran and I will do it. If we don't get a response from the Presidency, we won't do it," Kapidžić said on the show Jutro za sve.

He stated that it is a difficult fight for the position of BiH and its statehood, and that BiH is being "dismantled step by step," and national monuments are being moved into some enclosures.

At the next session of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly on November 12, the Report on the Work of the Provisional Investigative Commission of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina for obtaining information on the work of the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments, dating from June this year, will also be considered.

In that report, signed by Snježana Novaković Bursać, now a former delegate who was replaced by Nenad Vuković, it is clearly specified that Kapidžić and Mikulić did not agree to sign the minutes from the 18th session because they are awaiting the position of the Presidency of BiH and the OHR.

In their written statement to the Provisional Investigative Commission, Kapidžić and Mikulić stated that "by adding the designation 'Bosnia and Herzegovina', the belonging of the subject property to Bosnia and Herzegovina is indicated in two segments: the first indicates that the property is located on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the second indicates that the jurisdiction for protection and declaration, to the extent and in the manner prescribed by Annex 8, lies at the state level of government.

The same report also includes the statement of Ošap-Gaćanović, who believes that "cultural heritage is attributed to the people who created it, not to the territory of the state, and that it should be called a national monument, not a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina."

"KONS uses an illegal term in its work, linking cultural heritage with the state, not with the people and the cultural space on which it extends, which can often be wider than the territory of the state or several states. Members of KONS at the 18th session adopted a general remark on the use of the legal-technical terminology from Annex 8 'national monument', which should be included in the decisions prepared for adoption, but the members of KONS from the Federation of BiH decided to still use the term 'national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina'," the statement by Ošap-Gaćanović reads.


In that report, Kapidžić states that the terminology "national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina" has been used for 20 years and that the decision on changing the terminology can only be made by the Presidency of BiH or the OHR.

Patria is publishing a part of the report of the Provisional Commission, which clearly states how the members of the Commission for the Preservation of National Monuments of BiH expressed their views.