Komšić's Open Letter to the Public: Neither We Nor You Are for Sale, Let's Go Honestly, Fairly, and Sincerely!

On the eve of the local elections to be held on October 2, the president of the Democratic Front, Željko Komšić, sent an open letter to the public, which the Patria agency transmits in its entirety:

- Dear members of the Democratic Front of BiH, our sympathizers, citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

Regardless of all the pressures and vile provocations to which we are continuously exposed - the idea of fairness, honesty, respect for the law, and maintaining the integrity of this war-torn, and by corruption and crime devastated country, has never been, nor will it ever be, called into question by us.

The moment BiH is in today represents the most important turning point for the future of our children, the young generations who expect us not to allow thieves and political dilettantes to drag us down forever and suffocate us in the obscurity of their murky political dealings.

Neither you nor we are loose change to be put aside and remembered only when 'a little bit is needed' to buy positions and privileges. Neither we, nor you - are for sale!

Our ideas about a society of equal opportunities and prosperity, a multi-ethnic state that bravely strides towards modern Europe with the potential of educated and creative youth, simply do not belong in the mud where they have been for years. Never and ever.

It has been clear to you, from the very beginning of the Democratic Front's existence, that we bother everyone. Of course, we bother them. How could we not? They have tried everything: to buy us for public companies, to misuse us to lead their dirty wars (which have only one color - the color of money), and then to make us disappear from the media; all of that, in order, and sequence. We are a party of ordinary people, those who want to change things, in order to preserve the country and provide a chance for a happy future for everyone, regardless of their name or the God they pray to.

Why do I keep repeating: You must respect the laws of this country, you cannot violate the Constitution and say it is for the sake of reforms, you cannot take away the rights of workers who built this country and say it is for their own good - because it is not; you know it is not and you are still doing it, for twenty-five years; will you finally stop? Why do I keep repeating this: persistently, annoyingly, without stopping? Because they will not stop; because we must be the ones who, using all available democratic means, will prove that their word must not be the last - for the sake of our children whom we want to keep, to live here and not flee seeking happiness around the world.

BiH should be: a member of NATO, a country with an adopted Coordination Mechanism, an adapted Stabilization and Association Agreement, a member state of the European Union, a modern state where there is no place for those who undermine its sovereignty, those who hinder its progress towards the civilized world. That is what is important. And what is important, they make unimportant. They have turned this country into a European problem, a headache of the worst kind, a land of missed opportunities. Let's stop it.

We have seen nothing good since the general elections in 2014. The same scenario, with the same actors. And now, we are again at the beginning of the end. And that end is the chaos we live in. And they devised the script for us. We are ashamed in the face of Europe. We have nothing to offer them, because the current parliamentary majority will not and does not know how to fulfill even what it has promised. This is not our script, and we refuse to be a part of it. We are fighting at the state, entity, and cantonal levels. As much as we can.

Our representatives in the state parliament are continuously advocating for a Roadmap, the registration of military property, gender equality at all levels of society, the right to choose a language and its naming in accordance with the feelings and needs of each constituent people in BiH. In the Federation, we are fighting against the destroyers of the Constitution; the Government of the Federation of BiH and their partners in the legislative power think that the Constitution and its respect are a flexible category for their daily political needs (which is why they lose cases in the Constitutional Court of the Federation and declare themselves destroyers of the constitutional order of the state). In the House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation, the hellish plan of the parliamentary majority, which we have continuously warned about, has been realized - SNSD has been introduced.

But, we are not giving up. With the last atoms of our strength, we will fight against anti-state components that have been given space to undermine all positive processes in the Federation of BiH. In almost all cantons, the situation is more than dramatic - neither collective, let alone individual rights of citizens, are respected. Our representatives are warning and proposing amendments to laws concerning the rights of mothers, the rights of workers whose dignity has been stripped away through dubious privatizations... And how much more there is, and how much we must remain persistent and determined on our path to liberation from every form of fascism, crime, and economic decline.

Now we have the chance to continue and complete our fight for basic human rights at the local level, in our first local elections! Our responsibility and obligation are great. There is no prosperous country without a satisfied and well-ordered local community. And what does that mean? Our mayors, and those we support who are not DF members, should and must bring water and electricity to where ordinary people have been forgotten and left to the mercy of corrupt ignoramuses and local thugs; to asphalt roads, repair dilapidated roofs and installations, open cultural centers and... this is the most important thing - launch employment programs. Our elected mayors should restore hope to every citizen that the possibility of a normal and dignified life is not just an illusion. That it is possible and that we will do everything to provide them with a life worthy of a human being.

We will never give up on the fact that BiH was and will be the land of Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs, and all others. However, we must and will insist on equality in every inch of this country. Equality that includes the right to free national and religious declaration, the right to education, the right to a fair competition for employment (regardless of who you are related to, or who is closer or further from you). We will insist on honesty and integrity. The lives of our children are not for sale; we did not gather knowledge and faith in people on the street for them to trample on it so easily. Let's go bravely and decisively, let's go honestly and fairly, let's go sincerely... whatever it costs!