Komšić: No tanks and grenades, but Bosnia and Herzegovina is still being attacked, through institutions

Dear citizens of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 29 years ago we witnessed a great historical event, which will be written in golden letters in its long history. By the freely expressed will of the majority of its citizens, Bosnia and Herzegovina became an independent state, states in an open letter the member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić.

We convey his message in its entirety:

“That act marked the beginning of the process of gaining independence, a process that, judging by everything, is still ongoing. Our state was not given to us, but was preserved with the greatest possible sacrifices and victims. Despite all the challenges we face today, with all the current problems, we must still fight for its integrity and survival.

Those who tried by all means to annul the majority expressed will of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 have not deviated one millimeter from their goals today. The same forces that militarily attacked and undermined the country because of its independence and sovereignty are still active and acting against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Today, they do not ride on the tanks of a renegade army, do not shell cities and do not kill civilians, but they use institutions and every possible opportunity to hinder and regress the country. At first glance, it is difficult to compare these two ways of destroying our country, but the consequences of both persist and deepen.

With the same fervor with which we fought for independence, freedom, honor and equality after March 1, 1992, we should today oppose the destructive forces that weaken our homeland, but this time through the very institutions of the state.

I understand that some of our people have grown tired of waiting for that so-called better tomorrow, waiting for a well-ordered democratic and responsible state.

We have no choice but to continue the further struggle for our Bosnia and Herzegovina, relying above all on ourselves. We have no other way!

It will soon be three decades since the day of the declaration of independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Speaking very simply and comparing that period to a human life, one would say that we have entered an active and mature period of the life of an independent state.

Unfortunately, in “its thirties” from the day of gaining independence, some offer Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue living as if it were a child. A child that, from the East and West, they consider immature and unprepared for an independent life.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is an independent country, like dozens of other countries in Europe and the European Union. We who work through institutions for the benefit of the state and all citizens want, neither more nor less, than what the independent states of Europe and the European Union have: a democratic system in which the individual is sacred and in which the equality of individuals is sacred and constitutional.

Although all this sounds simple in theory, the path to it is not at all easy. However, I assume that today we can more vividly understand the circumstances of making the decision on independence, which was also not easy.

We need to remember those who laid down their lives in the war that soon followed. Their sacrifice must not be forgotten. And, not only must it not be forgotten, but we must draw certain lessons from that sacrifice.

It is therefore patriotic to learn the facts and face them honestly. It is not patriotic to unite against each other.

It is patriotic to mutually coordinate political moves and strive to find a minimum consensus on key issues of vital state interest, and a consensus on political methods, by which we want to reach a free and civic state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The brilliant goals of a free and civil society cannot be achieved through barren debate and attempts to understand, tolerate and adapt to great-state criminal projects and the goals of those projects, for the sake of false balance, false political correctness and the false story that we were all the same in the war.

There are too many who are not with us today, for us to allow ourselves such lies and self-deceptions today. If nothing else, we can be proud of the fact that between us, who love this country, and those who do not, there is a civilizational difference that has always been evident and is becoming more evident every day.

Our goals can only be achieved if we achieve a political consensus that this country must be a state of equal citizens on every inch of its territory.

In that sense, I call for turning to an internal, Bosnian-Herzegovinian dialogue and finding that consensus, rather than attempts to understand those who constantly deny the right to existence of our state.

We are no longer interested in their visions, nor are we interested in what they have to say ugly about our state, because everything has long been well known and proven by deeds. Their idols and beliefs are rotting in prisons around the world, and I see our idols and beliefs in the generation that did not give up on a unique, free and indivisible state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a generation that believes that through learning, work, hope in justice and law, freedom and equality, this can be achieved.

I am happy that no one succeeds in making that generation of Bosnians and Herzegovinians, us and new generations, loathe our own homeland, because the love for it is stronger and greater than everything that is undertaken against it.

Let us remain defiant, proud and dignified on the day we celebrate our greatest holiday.

I wish all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina a happy March 1, Independence Day”, states Komšić.