Elmedin Konaković's Double Standards: Sharpness Towards Belgrade, Silence Towards Zagreb

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

If he is to speak of 'honesty and responsibility', then Elmedin Konaković, Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH, must start with his own standards, and they are clearly not the same when it comes to Serbia and Croatia. In other words, it is becoming increasingly clear why Konaković says it is not fair for Bosniaks to elect Croatian representatives!

And with elections approaching, it's time to start addressing topics that please the public. But what is the real truth.

At the ministerial meeting in Antalya, Konaković, quite justifiably, sharply criticized Aleksandar Vučić's policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, raising issues of the relationship with the past, the glorification of war criminals, and political messages coming from Belgrade.

His messages that 'we cannot lie and expect trust' and that there are no good neighborly relations without confronting the past stand on their own. However, it is a big problem when they are applied selectively.

Because not so long ago, during an appearance on the show Nedjeljom u 2 on HRT, Konaković refused to answer a question about Croatia's role in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. That silence was not a diplomatic finesse, it was a political message. A message that one can be considerate towards Zagreb, even when the facts are as difficult as those addressed to Belgrade.

And the facts are not unknown. According to data from the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, hundreds of individuals accused or suspected of war crimes are unavailable to the BiH judiciary, and a significant number of them are located in Croatia, even more than in Serbia. Analogously, if we can 'be friends' with Serbia, how can we be with Croatia.

"It is known that in war crimes cases in the Special Department for War Crimes (PORZ), according to available records, there are about 340 individuals unavailable in various stages of proceedings, of which about 250 are in neighboring countries (estimates are that about 100 are in Serbia, about 150 in the Republic of Croatia, and less than ten in Montenegro), and about 80 more are in other countries around the world," the BiH Prosecutor's Office previously told Preporod.

If Konaković's criterion is that there is no trust without prosecuting crimes and without a clear stance on the past, then the same standard must apply to Zagreb.

But that is not happening.

Instead of a consistent policy, we are witnessing political balancing: sharp words towards Serbia, cautious silence towards Croatia. Such an approach not only undermines the credibility of the Minister of Foreign Affairs but also weakens Bosnia and Herzegovina's position in regional relations. Because messages that are not consistent are not convincing either.

And if he is to speak about prosecuting war crimes, Konaković could also 'sweep his own yard'. The BiH Prosecutor's Office has been systematically prosecuting members of the Army of RBiH and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RBiH for years – because they are available and politically convenient for various narratives, especially those coming from Serbia and Croatia. No one in BiH has seriously tried to stop this so far. The prosecutions continue until exhaustion.

If the truth about the past is to be insisted upon, then it cannot be partial. Either it applies to everyone or it ceases to be a principle and becomes a tool of daily politics.

Otherwise, Konaković's story about 'honesty and responsibility' remains just well-packaged rhetoric, without real political weight, and without the full truth.