GO SDA Mostar: Bosniaks of Herzegovina reject federalization ideas, mandates of some politicians are not worth more than the future of BiH

(Patria) - The City Board of SDA Mostar reacted to certain statements that could be heard on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement, organized by the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO, which was attended by international officials and representatives of countries from the region.

"We feel it is our duty to send a clear message from Mostar, from the heart of Herzegovina, on behalf of one of the key and numerous parts of Bosnian society – the Bosniaks of Mostar and wider Herzegovina, which can shape
future directions of international relations towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants from the region, as well as some international officials, in their statements at this significant gathering, did not clearly point out the obligation of all actors to clearly recognize and support the democratic and European values that Bosnia and Herzegovina should consistently build, following the example of other European countries.

After the brutal aggression and attempts at ethnic cleansing of Mostar and Herzegovina by double aggressors, and after final verdicts for the Joint Criminal Enterprise, whose sentences reached 111 years in prison for the gravest forms of crimes against humanity, Bosniaks and all citizens of BiH who believe in a democratic, European, and integral Bosnia and Herzegovina must clearly and unequivocally point out the dangers that threaten new divisions, retrograde models, and political concepts contrary to European principles.

Therefore, we call on all pro-Bosnian-Herzegovinian political forces, as well as international partners – primarily the High Representative Christian Schmidt, the United States, the European Union member states – to remain consistent in supporting European standards and not to indulge policies that seek to turn BiH into a constitutional-political experiment far from European practice," they state in their reaction.

Unfortunately, as they say, we are witnessing that these principles are being abandoned lately, which causes additional concern.

"The Bosniaks of Mostar – who make up almost 50% of the population and more than 92,000 in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton – strongly and unitedly reject any idea of creating an environment for any practice of federalization or other models of political redefinition that would define Mostar and Herzegovina as a 'Croatian space' or territory of one nation in such a narrative. These ideas are not reformist – they are deeply anti-European, anti-democratic, and carry memories of segregation, exclusion, camps, and crimes. We warn against attempts to create an environment over the backs of Bosniaks, using the current crisis – from Republika Srpska and SNSD – to try to reach a compromise that leads to a new chapter of political inequality and institutional dominance.

Instead, we call on all political and international actors to support a clear European model of organizing Bosnia and Herzegovina, which respects human rights, the equality of all citizens regardless of ethnic affiliation, and which is aligned with the practice and principles of the European Union. It would not be fair or well-intentioned for any foreign representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina to advocate for models that they would never accept in their own country.

We are particularly concerned that the so-called civic parties with headquarters in Sarajevo do not have their own voice on this topic. We ask ourselves if the few years of mandate of a few individuals are worth more than the future of this country and the principles on which it can rest?

Mostar is a city of special historical and political symbolism – a city that went through international administration precisely to heal war wounds and build a unified administration. Today, as then, the Bosniaks of this city and Herzegovina live and act in accordance with anti-fascist and European values. They are ready for dialogue, openness, and democracy, but not for experiments that lead to new divisions, and that is a clear message from the people who live and defended European anti-fascist values in this part of Europe," stated the GO SDA Mostar.