When will the truth be enough on its own: On Karan, laws, and the need for 'external' confirmation

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

In the focus of the media, especially those in the Federation of BiH, was today the statement of Milan Blagojević, former advisor to Željka Cvijanović and professor of constitutional law, that the Prosecutor's Office of BiH has grounds and a legal obligation to launch an investigation against the Minister of Internal Affairs of RS, Siniša Karan.

The reason is his conduct towards SIPA officials regarding a specific incident that occurred in front of the Administrative Center in East Sarajevo when SIPA inspectors tried to reach Dodik.
However, the logical question arises: why now? Karan has been in serious violation of the law for months, if not longer, ignoring the orders of the BiH Court concerning internal warrants for Milorad Dodik, Nenad Stevandić, and Radovan Višković. Yet, this obvious legal scandal has not generated anywhere near this level of media and political interest so far.

Something else is symptomatic in this story: reactions only come when "others" – in this case, a Serb and a former associate of Dodik – speak out. Only then does the same topic, which numerous pro-Bosniak analysts and politicians have raised for months, become "worthy of attention".
This leads us to a deeper problem that has been recurring for years in the public space of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially within pro-Bosniak politics. It's as if one's own word, one's own analysis, or warning, is worth less if it is not confirmed by someone who is not Bosniak, or even more preferably – someone who comes from the system that has been challenged for years.

This need for external confirmation is not only politically infantile but also harmful. It sends the message that the truth is questionable until confirmed by someone "neutral", preferably from among those who were once on the opposite side. In practice, this means that reactions to violations of the law are postponed, diminished, or relativized – until someone "important" says what is already clear.

In the meantime, Minister Karan continues to sit peacefully in his chair, ignoring court decisions, undermining the fundamental principles of the legal order, and the public is only now beginning to ask questions. Questions that should have been asked much earlier, regardless of who asked them first.

It is time for the pro-Bosniak political and media space to stop seeking external consensus in order to react to its own reality. The rule of law does not depend on the ethnicity of those who defend it, but on the principled approach and consistency of those who believe in it.