Izetbegović: Four years have been lost, it will take a year of the next mandate to stop the decline

(Patria) - SDA President Bakir Izetbegović said on Sunday that his party is celebrating 36 years of SDA's existence, work, and struggle. Addressing the public in Sarajevo, he stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina, unfortunately, is in perhaps the most difficult moment since Dayton and that "four years have been lost that we should not have lost".

Izetbegović said that in the last four years, we have seen setbacks in many segments such as the economy, security, etc. He also announced that SDA faces two battles, the first - easier, and the second, which will be much harder, in his opinion.

"The first is easier and it relates to the October elections. SDA must overcome the 'Trojka' and the cluster of parties associated with it, otherwise this situation will deepen and become worse. The 'Trojka' and (Denis) Bećirović must go, otherwise it will not be good for the country," assessed the SDA leader.

The harder battle is after October, Izetbegović continued:

"As I said, we have not only lost time, but we have experienced serious setbacks. We know the situation with BiH's borrowing, job losses, and the departure of the OHR. I think we will spend the first year on that, and then the next three years, I promise you, what you have always experienced from SDA - solving all the problems that Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing.".

Izetbegović took the opportunity to criticize the president of Our Party, Sabina Ćudić, who caused sharp public reactions after a speech at the Sarajevo City Hall in front of thirty EU representatives, in which she, among other things, presented the war in BiH and the siege of Sarajevo as a "conflict" and a struggle for power".

The SDA president assessed that Ćudić "expressed disrespect and ignorance of her own country and her own people".

"It is arrogance and conceit, many were surprised (by her statement), but I was not," he added.

When asked by N1 to comment on the statements of High Representative Christian Schmidt, who himself confirmed that he is leaving this position soon due to US pressure, Izetbegović replied that the American pressure was "wrong" because it will "give Dodik wings". He explained what he meant by that...

"I think the move to pressure him (Schmidt) to resign is wrong because it will give Dodik wings, who will claim it is his victory and then strengthen again. I spoke with the American side, they claim that everything is for the purpose of stabilizing the situation in the Western Balkans and that they no longer want to go with 'blacklists' and sanctions. Dodik has indeed withdrawn laws that were an attack on the constitutional order," said Izetbegović.

He concluded that there will be an attempt to "completely paralyze" the work of the High Representative, and then BiH will be placed in a situation without the OHR.

However, as he pointed out, without the OHR and the High Representative, "the Dayton system cannot function because too many blockades are built into it".

"Without the High Representative, we would not have a currency, passport, anthem, judiciary... therefore, removing the OHR is playing with fire unless domestic mechanisms are created to replace the OHR," said Bakir Izetbegović during his address to the public on the occasion of celebrating 36 years of SDA's existence.