Euphoria among the people - unity from Monday

It is interesting that among us Bosniaks there always has to be some kind of unification which, by an unwritten rule, covers all the dirty laundry we have thrown at each other. When we unite, these things are no longer to be spoken about. The reasons for the quarrel must now unite us, and we must speak of flaws as virtues.

Recently, after the formation of a political alliance between the Bosniak parties SDA and SBB, the public media space has most often been talking about “Bosniak unity”. This unity was first advocated by the leaders of the two parties, followed by a number of prominent figures from the cultural, academic and religious spheres. Few people clearly understand what the party leaders want, and what the standing political appointees want. I believe the basic message is that every Bosniak should follow the decisions of these two parties as a sacred word, because Bosniaks must respect “order and leaders”.

It is interesting that the leader of the HDZ, Dragan Čović, was the initiator of the merger of these parties, and also the greatest advisor to the leader of the SDA and a good friend of the leader of the SBB. It can be freely said that Čović is the creator of "Bosniak unity". It is already visible that he is treated very gently, even subserviently, and that he is being accommodated within the process of power distribution. Can these absurd relations be analysed without being labelled as a breaker of "Bosniak unity"? No, they cannot. Immediately you are a traitor, an opponent, an apostate and - you are not a Bosniak.

Equating the nation with the "unity" of these parties puts us in a position of political suitability. The label of betraying national interests is right there. This takes us far from serious relations in our society. People are already mockingly saying: “Euphoria among the people: unity from Monday”.

At one time, an invitation was issued by the Islamic Community for a gathering that would mark common goals. However justified that invitation was, it was negated by the fact that until now there has been no dialogue between these parties on state-building goals in the interest of the Bosniak people.

Every call for unity fundamentally has, not unity, but designated enemies that still only need to be publicly named.

Why unity and who is our enemy?      

Will we create a state based on the rule of law? How much state justice will we distribute so that we can talk about unity? Unity of whom and for whom? Of the capable and the incapable, the honest and the criminals?  Unity of the poor and the rich? Unity of the humiliated and those who humiliate? Unity of builders and destroyers?  To my regret and that of millions of other Bosniaks “outside the alliance”, this is a unity of lies and deception.  This is the unity of three men, two politicians and the Reis who found himself in an unenviable position, for the sake of the interests of a narrow circle of people.

How is it possible that the unity of the SBB and SDA is an indicator of the evolution of Bosniak politics when we know that these parties won the elections opposed on all issues: Their antagonisms completely disoriented the electorate. With a rarely seen brutal campaign, the very two leaders of these parties divided the Bosniak corpus to the point of incandescence, and today they talk about saving unity. Sensitive to the national question, people agree to such spin. I cannot even imagine what can be expected from the next level of manipulation of public opinion. But, I assume that the "united" will explain to us that it is very good for Bosniaks to establish a third entity and that it is best for all Bosniaks to live along the line from Sarajevo to Tuzla.

It is obvious how interest can turn the fiercest enemies into the fiercest friends. Today they are almost forcing people into their unity at gunpoint. If by any chance someone had slept through this year and a few months after the elections, they would probably think the election campaign was a nightmare. We have a serious problem because our government has nothing to do with the elections. The Bosnian political scene goes from one extreme to another. At one time, the slogan of brotherhood and unity was spat upon. Now, at the top of their voices, they have started talking about the unity of the Bosniak people, and it is implied that we are brothers and belong to the same fold.

As a state, we are deeply divided along ethnic lines. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is not about the functionality of the nation, but the functionality of the state. The dysfunctionality of the state, medically speaking, is linked to the hyperactivity of ethno-politicians and attention deficit when it comes to the state. In this ghetto of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where we are crowded and our collective rights are already seriously reduced, nothing can be created except a poor construction of retarded national unity in which critical distance is forbidden.

Who knows what else awaits us in this story of the "unity" of two parties of one part of the Bosniak government. We have unity and an alliance, only it is not known which option formally dominates. Those from the SDA talk more and more about the alliance, those from the Alliance of BB about the “strength of unity”. Since they formed the government, they have completely mixed up slogans, roles and positions. The SDA and SBB should be aware that they are together in government, and that is quite enough common political goals and tasks.  However, we must not forget that Bosniaks make up about 80% of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which by all definitions of democracy would be enough to form a government. Unfortunately, even united they do not have sufficient capacity to do so, so they called on Croats for help, giving them both what is theirs and what is not. What this tells us, I am not sure I dare say out loud, so as not to jeopardise "unity", but it seems to me that not all Bosniaks are in the same line.    

As for their political unity, they did not even need parties. They all came out from under the cloak of the SDA and all are clones of the SDA. The problem is a few leaders and even fewer handlers. The unity of the SDA and SBB is only a current political interest, not some long-term strategy. As dramatically as the close relationship of these two parties is spoken of, one would say that there will soon be a merger of these two parties under the careful supervision of the patron from Široki Brijeg. Something like SSDA – Alliance of Parties of Democratic Action.    

Nevertheless, it could be said that such processes testify that the destruction of some idea or goal is very close. When this saving unity is forced, someone always suffers. We saw what our neighbouring countries did to us in Bosnia in the name of unity. Fascism is the final stage of unity. We are in the first stage of “whoever is not with us is against us”. 

The subjugation of the Bosniak national corpus homogenises the other two constituent peoples far more effectively and negatively. Historically, the formation of a government of national salvation or a government of national unity is understandable. These salvation governments always included all political or ideological options. There were “left” and “right” and the political centre. Here, a government of national ruin is being formed - just so you know.

Let the SDA and SBB once again check what Čović's HDZ has taken from them in terms of power weakened by their unity. Especially those ministries and agencies that are financially well-off. Let them see where the money collected from Bosniak taxpayers goes and how it is disproportionately channelled. There, their national unity shows that it has no strength in the decisions of the executive branch.     

So far, the SDA and SBB have operationalised huge amounts of Bosniak unity. It could even be said that they have overdone it - too little for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and enough for Herceg-Bosna.