Komšić: People in BiH institutions are destroying the country, but there are those who will defend it no matter how it is attacked

(Patria) - BiH Presidency member and DF leader Željko Komšić was a guest on this evening's edition of Face TV as the political personality of the year.

He spoke about the formation of government, why he doesn't believe in the 'eight' project, the demands of foreigners, but also the endangerment of the country that Zagreb and Belgrade want to decide on.

Although he himself said that perhaps being in the BiH Presidency for the fourth time is a lot, he added that the reason for this is that he constantly has to defend something.

"That was the reason why I entered this story three times. When I entered for the first time, the situation was different," says Komšić.

He stated that the relations of the international community towards BiH have changed, as have those of some countries.

He added that the agreement signed by the 'eight' with the HDZ also includes amendments to the Election Law in accordance with the Constitutional Court's ruling.

"This is obviously the Ljubić ruling, and it was implemented a long time ago. And that unfortunate Schmidt, when he imposed the amendments, said that this ruling was final for him," he said.

When asked about the current formation of government, Komšić said that the goal is "to overthrow the SDA, and as they say, this kind of SDA."

"I worry about what will happen to whoever is in power. DF and I personally have been identified as spoilers of this entire idyll surrounding the election law story, we are the ones who are annoying with the civic state, we are annoying with some ideals, we are spoiling this pragmatic 'hold water while the masters are away' agreement."

When asked if the DF is with the SDA, Komšić said they are not.

When directly asked why he wouldn't give the deciding vote to the 'eight', Komšić answered with a counter-question, "Why should I?"

"Should I treat them. How can I give it when I don't believe in that project. I think it will end badly. They can try, anyway, they say Schmidt will give it to them. Well, they said Schmidt will help, so let him help. But that move is also dangerous for Schmidt.

Why should DF save Schmidt. And I told him, impose the election law, but you bear the consequences of that move. And now that they have announced with great fanfare that the blockades have been resolved, we see that nothing has been resolved. They think we Bosnians are fools. Blockades are a matter of political will, the blockade in FBiH was caused by the HDZ. We all know that," explained Komšić.

Speaking about the 'eight', he emphasizes that it is "a forcibly assembled project, with many people involved, conflict and clashes must naturally arise there." He even offered a solution to the 'eight' on how to form a government.

"Let the 'eight' talk to the SDA. Let them try to resolve it. I don't want to participate in that either. Let the foreigners untangle that knot. Five of those eight parties split from the SDA," he said.

When asked if he doubts the state-building capabilities of the leaders of the 'eight', Komšić said he cannot judge in advance.

"I won't say they are bad. What I have seen so far, the rush, the haste, the easy promises, do not inspire confidence. When you elect the BiH Council of Ministers and the Federal Government, there is no change. End of story, nothing changes for four years," said Komšić.

He expressed concern about state property and Dodik's desires.

"I'm afraid it will pass quickly, foreigners know how to steer things, so they say 'give Dodik something'. I'm afraid that under the pretext that Dodik and Čović have changed, they will give it away, and we won't be able to get it back. We are now discussing whether to hand over our agencies partly to the Russians, partly to Zagreb," he said.

When it comes to the asymmetrical model of electing members of the BiH Presidency, Komšić does not agree with it.

"Now the people give the mandate. That mandate must be strong. What the April package offered was that all power is in the Council of Ministers of BiH, and the Presidency is a protocol function. If you elect two members in the Parliament, and from FBiH, that's two-thirds, then the question is whether the commander-in-chief, the boss of foreign policy, can be that person. The strength of the mandate is in question. Someone from RS comes here. Dodik had the idea that the president of RS should also be a member of the BiH Presidency. This leads to the question that Dodik repeats: do nations have the right to self-determination. BiH is not even remotely similar to Yugoslavia. If they allow him that, he is taking a small step towards saying 'we have the right to decide whether we are part of this state or not'. That is what Karadžić did, should he be allowed to do it?" said Komšić.

He pointed out that it is easy to say from this point of view that they should not have agreed to RS in Dayton.

"We agreed, it's done, it's written in the BiH Constitution. That's what Dodik wants, his unconstitutional moves must not be acceptable to us. There is a supreme arbiter for such matters. There is the High Representative, and there is when a criminal offense is committed. Since the Constitutional Court declared that day unconstitutional, from that moment on, all celebrations of January 9th are a violation of the Constitutional Court's rulings, which is a criminal offense. Who should act, well, the BiH Prosecutor's Office," emphasizes the member of the BiH Presidency.

He believes that the state is at stake at this moment.

"For five years, I have been talking about what is being prepared for this country. Do you want me to tell you what plan they have prepared for BiH? Zagreb, Belgrade, Tirana are points of stability. Kosovo, Montenegro, and us are the problem because we are not giving in. Kosovo is rebelling because it is not giving up what is theirs, Montenegro is rebelling because foreigners have manipulated them. For five years, we have been hammering here that Belgrade has everything through RS, now we are supposed to give half of the country to Zagreb. The Western Balkans are stable if Zagreb, Belgrade, and Tirana decide on them. Plenković, Vučić, and Rama. Look at the 'Open Balkan' initiative. People have counted so many Serbs, so many Albanians, so many Croats. If possible, keep the borders, but let Belgrade manage Montenegro. Here in BiH, let Belgrade and Zagreb decide. And we all say they wouldn't do that, but they are, they are doing exactly that to us. And when you say no, you are the enemy," he said.

He stated that he will preserve the country in every possible way.

"It depends on how it is attacked. I cannot preserve it alone, but I am convinced that there are enough of us. Those who love this country, who hate no one. There is enough space in this country for everyone. What should I do, 30 years since the war began, just don't touch me, because if you touch me, you will naturally provoke a reaction," Komšić conveyed.

"This country is constructed in such a way that people in institutions work against the state. Sovereignty implies that we make decisions ourselves. The problem with the structure of such a state is that you have to work with branches of Zagreb and Belgrade. That is written in Dayton."

When it comes to state property and the construction of the Buk Bijela hydroelectric power plant, Komšić said that no one is against investment, but that the state must be consulted.

"No one is against investment, but if they want to build Buk Bijela and for Serbia to participate in it, that is an intergovernmental agreement. That agreement is concluded like any intergovernmental agreement, Dodik cannot do it alone. Elektroprivreda RS cannot do it alone with EP Serbia, because there is a law that regulates it.

The profit is regulated as stated in the intergovernmental agreement between the contracting parties. Do you know why they don't want to make an intergovernmental agreement? Because we will ask them, and what about the hydroelectric power plants on the Drina so far, what would they say, where is the money. Let's look at those agreements, how they were made, who owes what to whom. Did BiH get anything out of it.

That issue has been raised, but people don't want to provide an answer. You want Buk Bijela, okay, but let's first resolve what has happened on the Drina so far. No one is against cooperation.

As I was told, there are plans for Buk Bijela to be built like this - 50 percent Serbia, as it has the greatest interest, 25 percent RS, 25 percent FBiH. On the surface, it sounds tempting. But I have one question based on the ownership share in the hydroelectric power plant: how are decisions made, how are decisions made. Because when you add up 50 percent from Serbia and 25 percent from RS, who decides?" he said.

He did not want to prejudge the decision of the BiH Constitutional Court on the imposed amendments to the FBiH Constitution and the Election Law.

"Whatever the BiH Constitutional Court decides, I accept it. If the Constitutional Court is authorized, it is the only one that decides. It will probably be decided politically. If it had been done correctly from the beginning, they should have issued a temporary measure. I put myself in the shoes of a constitutional judge, what to do now. If they accept the appeal, they can say from the next election cycle," concluded Komšić.