Hadžidedić claims: Sutorina is a dangerous game, if BiH gets it back, we will lose Neum

Dr. Zlatko Hadžidedić, a prominent political scientist, warned in an interview with the BiH news agency Patria that the story about the return of Sutorina to Bosnia and Herzegovina is a big deception of our country, behind which most likely stands someone who is not such a great friend of BiH.

Hadžidedić warns that those who have raised the issue of Sutorina's return, which is impossible to happen, are not even aware of the danger they could cause to BiH.

The return of Sutorina to our country, he says, would also mean great trouble for BiH. This story calls into question the independence of BiH, its borders are unnecessarily shaken, and finally, he says, by returning Sutorina, we would most likely lose Neum, which we received precisely because BiH had the right to one access to the sea.

Dr. Hadžidedić is not the only one with dark forebodings. He says he also consulted with Francis Boyle, a former legal advisor to Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the international expert as well, the story about Sutorina's return to BiH's borders is completely nonsensical and extremely dangerous.

- I have no doubt that this is a harmful thing for BiH, and in no way can it, even theoretically, bring any benefit to us. And I do not believe that this story is just someone's naivety. I believe that there is some help from those who are not naive and who do not wish this country well - says Hadžidedić.

For him, it is very important that the BiH Parliament verifies the borders between BiH and Montenegro on March 11 and that this issue does not go to the International Court. Hadžidedić says that every serious politician knows that the issue of Sutorina is a closed chapter, that reopening it can bring great damage to BiH, but the problem is created by people who have appeared and who call themselves experts, which confuses politicians.

- With the story about the return of Sutorina, we can only create prerequisites for discussing border changes of BiH in other places, or for strengthening appetites for secession of certain parts of the country, he says.

There are several reasons, Hadžidedić explains, why BiH does not have a claim to Sutorina. We first gave up this access to the sea by accepting the 1974 Constitution, and a second time by accepting the opinion of the Badinter Commission in 1992 when BiH was recognized as an independent state. BiH also gave up this access to the sea, which has been part of Montenegro for decades, in 1995 by signing the Dayton Agreement.

- I have often heard from our historians and lawyers that we never accepted this border change around Sutorina. However, that is pure nonsense, and anyone who knows international law will tell you the same. BiH cannot claim that it has not officially given up Sutorina if it has accepted the 1974 Constitution. That Constitution regulated the relationship between the republics in the former Yugoslavia, including the acceptance of existing borders as valid.

By the very fact that we voted for the 1974 Constitution, we implicitly voted for the existing borders with Montenegro. Therefore, we gave up Sutorina for the first time then.

The next time we gave up Sutorina was when we accepted the arbitration of the Badinter Commission, because if we had not accepted the arbitration, we would not have been able to apply for the recognition of BiH's independent status.

Our lawyers and historians do not take these facts into account. They look at it in reverse order. They say there is no official document that we accepted that Sutorina belongs to Montenegro. That is true. But they should know that international law is based on so-called Anglo-Saxon law. And in Anglo-Saxon law, some things are implied, and anyone who can read knows that international law interprets the case of Sutorina like this - if you have accepted the 1974 Constitution, you have also accepted the borders defined by that Constitution, which means that Sutorina belongs to Montenegro.

And, finally, we gave up Sutorina for the third time when we signed the Dayton Agreement.

Imagine what it would look like in court now if we wanted to resolve this issue through arbitration. It would mean that BiH renounces Dayton, and then also denies the arbitration that the Badinter Commission established when we gained independence, Hadžidedić further explains, emphasizing that we cannot pick and choose from the Badinter Commission like a buffet - take independence because we like it, but not the decision on borders.   

- It is the same with Dayton. We cannot take from it what guarantees our survival and independence, but now we want to change the borders a little, says Hadžidedić.

For Hadžidedić, the strongest argument why BiH should abandon the story about Sutorina is the opinion of legal expert Boyle, who has repeatedly confirmed that these are dangerous matters for BiH. Boyle also explained how BiH received access to the sea in Neum based on its request for that right.

Under international law, every country has the right to one access to the sea. If we were to seek a second access now, then what BiH received in Neum would begin to be questioned.