Komšić: Why doesn't Konaković mind changing the BiH Constitution on Christian foundations and Serbian attacks on BiH's territorial integrity?

(Patria) - Given the flood of lies that the BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konaković has uttered, which is clearly his modus operandi in political action, and considering that the average citizen does not have the time to verify the truthfulness of claims that cannot be definitively determined whether they stem from ignorance, malice, arrogance, or all of the above, it seems necessary to respond to what Konaković has said, according to a statement from the BiH Presidency member Željko Komšić.

"First of all, Konaković should stop lamenting about my and his participation in the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Konaković must clarify to the citizens whether, due to being influenced by official Zagreb, as even Croatian officials claim, from Željana Zovko to Andrej Plenković, there is a lack of reaction to Hungary's interference in BiH's internal affairs and the process of amending the BiH Constitution and Election Law, especially considering the cooperation between Zagreb - HDZ BiH and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, on Christian foundations. Konaković must clarify why he is part of those structures that want to change the BiH Constitution and Election Law on Christian foundations.

The BiH Minister of Foreign Affairs must also clarify why there is no reaction to the questioning of BiH's territorial integrity by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia. Konaković cannot justify his inaction by the alleged approach that he supposedly does not want to raise his voice, no matter how much it was suggested to him at some evening school of American diplomacy for 'Dodik's Muslims'.

Konaković talks about NATO, forgetting his positions, as well as the positions of his 'Trojka' associates regarding the Reform Program of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adopted in 2019 after a difficult battle for its adoption.

They did everything to devalue it, to render it worthless, and to 'inform the public' that it actually means nothing in terms of Bosnia and Herzegovina's NATO path. They talked about whether the MAP (Membership Action Plan) was activated or not, not knowing that the MAP is not activated, but that one participates in it, and only by submitting ANPs, which in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina are called the Reform Program. Suddenly, when they came to power, this Reform Program became important to those 'Trojka' members.

As it is indeed important, because without it, Konaković would have no basis to talk about NATO today, let alone claim that by changing the name of the Commission for NATO Integration to the Commission for NATO Cooperation, Bosnia and Herzegovina's NATO path has been parked, which he claims has been halted due to the decision of the relevant Minister of Defense in the previous convocation of the Council of Ministers. That is a blatant lie. The truth is that Konaković's superiors, those from the American Embassy, initiated, organized, and ensured the change of the name to the Commission for NATO Cooperation due to concessions to Dodik, even though I and my associates were against it, which we openly told them.

Because of our stance, Mr. Sifet Podžić, as the Minister of Defense in the previous convocation of the Council of Ministers, was the only one who voted against changing the name of that Commission. Konaković knows this, but as always, he wants to manipulate the public.

That Commission for NATO Cooperation, whatever it may be, submitted several more Reform Programs, thus ensuring the continuation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's NATO path, while this new Konaković Commission for NATO Cooperation has fallen apart these days despite all his aspirations for compromise, and thus Bosnia and Herzegovina's NATO path has stalled.

Therefore, the NATO path in the previous mandate was unquestionable, and as we see now after the 'Trojka' and its partners came to power, the NATO path is blocked. The compromising Konaković should give the public an answer as to why you are canceling exercises with a partner, the United States of America, because we see that you have compromised and agreed that the exercise 'Rapid Response 2023' will not take place on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Will the compromising Konaković tell the truth that there has been an increase in the budget for the Ministry of Defense (actually for salaries and benefits, not for the modernization of the Armed Forces of BiH), whether as some step forward or as a consequence of the latest law on increasing salaries for civil servants, police officers, soldiers, and even politicians.

Regarding foreign policy, the difference between us and the compromising manipulator Konaković is very simple – we clearly tell all those who want to usurp the sovereignty of this country, who use their political satellites in BiH, that it cannot be done and that we will not give up the sovereignty of this country, nor will we ever agree to their ideas about the Election Law, legitimate representation, hydroelectric power plants, airports, and similar attacks on the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, unlike Konaković, who doesn't even dare to interpret the verdict of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which unequivocally established that there was an interstate armed conflict here, in which Croatia and Serbia also participated as aggressors against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The consequence of 'compromise policies' is the surrender of Bosnia and Herzegovina's sovereignty to the western and eastern neighbors, which Konaković is clearly prepared to do under the guise of a new political atmosphere. All that remains is for that atmosphere to be favorable to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and not exclusively in favor of our western and eastern neighbors.

The falsely compromising Konaković claims that in the previous mandate, Brussels, Washington, Berlin, London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, all bypassed this country, when in fact the truth is that high-ranking officials from these capitals visited Bosnia and Herzegovina, and we also visited them (perhaps for Konaković, European Council President Charles Michel or EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mr. Borell are invisible) with whom we discussed and agreed on various matters. We told all of them, without exception, about the need for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be transformed into a modern, democratic state, according to European standards, which require the protection of individual civil rights, and we received support for such positions from all of them. Then comes Konaković and his compromising lackeys, who have returned us to the shackles of ethnic politics," Komšić stated.

Regarding the issue of appointing the Government of the Federation of BiH, Komšić emphasized that they offered a permanent solution for amending the Constitution in a way that suits the 'Trojka' members, because they are proponents of democracy and the existence of a majority that manages processes.

"But unfortunately, it is too complex mathematics for Konaković to read such simple acts, so he called it populism without seeing it. What is his solution? That the High Representative, through some latest unconstitutional moves, gives them federal power, and Konaković, the compromising one, does not care about the long-term consequences for the country, because for him, history begins and ends with himself and his social media statuses.

Another lie. We have never, nor will we ever, defend legitimate representation, because it is essentially a pro-fascist narrative, incompatible with our policies of a civic state, while Konaković himself has repeatedly said that 'it is not good for Croats to have Bosniaks elect their representatives,' thus placing himself on the opposite side of those values, in complete opposition to European standards, and if you will, also in opposition to the values of the Western democratic world, which we strive for, and Konaković hinders this whenever he can, in order to maintain some pseudo-feudal system here in which he sees himself as the chieftain of the Bosniaks.

In addition to having balanced everything, as the compromising Konaković claims, he forgets that they gave a controlling stake to HDZ and SNSD in the Council of Ministers, as well as in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament, making their political actions meaningless, as they have thereby subordinated themselves to the policies of HDZ and SNSD," Komšić concluded.