Facebook phalanges and political ignoramuses: A recipe for conflict among patriots and the disintegration of the state without a single shot!

Written by: Rasim Belko

Last January, when I wrote down the conclusion that Muharem Cero and I had problematized several times on these pages, concerning phalangism, I had no idea that after only a year, that phalangism would become so tangible that it has become frightening.

At that time, we said: “phalangism is a dangerous sidetrack for patriotic politics, and thus for the survival of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.” However, serious topics in the patriotic public have long lacked sufficient attention, because what is important has become boring, while stories of low passions and bad politics have been promoted to the top.

Who in Sarajevo still cares that patriotic politics has no strategy, goals, or red lines, when it is more important who combs their hair how, who sleeps with whom, who gambles, and who pushes to the front row? And this is nothing new; patriotic politics has been reduced to this for over a decade, having lost all battles, both those it fought and those it unjustifiably ignored.

But the story about phalangism within patriotic forces has been raised to a higher level. Fortunately, this interest-political struggle is still taking place in the viral world of social networks, but as expected, having been raised to a higher level in that space, no one can deny the possibility that it could spill over into reality, which would be catastrophic at a time of a difficult struggle for the survival of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A struggle that few see, and even fewer lead.

Anyway, on social networks, especially Facebook, but others are not far behind, anonymous pages are springing up, whose authors, devoid of any responsibility, without arguments, accuse, insult, spit on, and belittle the actors they target as a political danger to their interests.

In the last few months, it has been noticeable that almost all parties or their grey eminences have one such page. It is difficult to keep track of them all. Thus, the page “Dvije marke” (Two Marks), which has existed for about two years, targets part of the political structures of the SDP, SDA, NiP, and some public figures.

As a counterbalance to “Dvije marke”, the page “Razotkriveno” (Exposed) has appeared, which defends the policies of the Troika, and indiscriminately fires heavy words, insults, and slander, most often at the leader of the SDA, Bakir Izetbegović, his wife, and other SDA cadres.

A third one we noticed is “Mreža pravde” (Network of Justice), which, based on its content, most advocates the policy of Elmedin Konaković, and attacks the Izetbegovićs, Komšić, Dnevni avaz, Avdo Avdić, Jahja Muhasilović, and more or less everyone who dares to criticize Konaković in the public sphere.

I am almost certain that there are more such and similar pages, especially those dealing with local cadres and interests.

However, the question arises: with so much content being continuously published, containing many elements of a criminal offense, how is it that no one investigates and asks who is hiding behind these fake pages?

How is it that the Intelligence-Security Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the FUP, cantonal MUPs, and other security institutions are unable to uncover this network of phalangist Facebook pages, which in the viral world create a war atmosphere within the pro-Bosnian political spectrum, creating the precondition that in the near future we will see the first victims in the real world due to political conflicts?

There is no justification for security-police agencies not dealing with this issue, because these pages openly terrorize a large number of public figures, and we know that some are even targets of futile investigations.

But that is a separate issue, because this too can be subsumed under the hybrid war against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which institutions along the vertical line do not even try to respond to.

But the bigger problem is the fact that we have reached a situation where our political parties are led by people ready to go to war among patriots for a piece of power. That is the biggest problem in the whole story.

Because, if pro-Bosnian leaders had a grain of salt in their heads, they would ensure that all mentioned and other pages are shut down before we reach the boiling point after which there is no return. It is especially important that they do this at a time when Croatia, acting from the position of a more powerful state, is openly and increasingly working on breaking up the state and realizing its goals. At the same time, threats from the east have never subsided, only occasionally and alternately repeated by the protagonists of the “Serbian world”, such as yesterday Aleksandar Vučić in Trebinje.

And at a time of such danger, while neighboring and who knows what intelligence services are prowling around the country, while geopolitical circumstances are not in our favor, on the contrary, our political elites are capable of engaging in viral belittling and insulting of political rivals and dissenters.

To make matters worse, recently the story about the alleged Tuzla secession has been reopened, as if there is not enough antagonism between the largest industrial basin in the country and the capital city.

Looking at all this, no matter how difficult it is, it is time to ask whether today's Bosniak/Bosnian leaders are installed in order to dismantle the state of Bosnia without firing a single shot?

Because, even if we are led by the last political laymen, it is hard to believe that all those who have changed in decision-making positions over the past three decades could not have come up with anything statesmanlike that could last and be useful for the state.

One can no longer speak of coincidence. This is a pattern of behavior that has its perpetrators, its beneficiaries, and its victims. The first victim is political reasonableness, the second is social cohesion, and the third and most dangerous is the state itself. Phalangism within the pro-Bosnian political corpus destroys the little trust that remains, produces enemies where there should be none, and weakens the front that should be united in the face of real threats.

If this is not urgently stopped, we will reach a situation where internal conflicts continue even when external pressures escalate. And then it will be too late for smart analyses and subsequent regrets. History teaches us that states rarely fall because of the strength of their enemies, but much more often because of the weakness and irresponsibility of their own elites.

Therefore, it is high time to draw a clear line between political struggle and political self-destruction. Criticism is necessary, pluralism is healthy, but organized lynching, anonymous terror, and inciting propaganda are not politics, they are phalangism in its most naked form. And it does not build, but destroys.

If pro-Bosnian parties and their leaders do not understand the seriousness of the moment and do not take responsibility for the atmosphere they produce, history will not remember them by the positions they held, but by what they failed to defend. And Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than ever, is in a situation where it cannot afford another luxury, the luxury of political stupidity, vanity, and short-term interests.

Because, a state is not always lost in war. Sometimes it is lost in silence, in cowardice, and in the false belief that someone else will take responsibility. And then it is already too late.