Kulenović in front of the OHR: Enough silence while our state is held hostage!

(Patria) - President of the Association of Independent Intellectuals Circle 99, Adil Kulenović, addressed those gathered today at the protest in front of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) building in Sarajevo.

- We stood here two years ago because of the 'Kovačević' case, which Schmidt was overturning. We stand here today as well. Some came from Tuzla, Zenica, Mostar, Bihać.

Some walked, some came by train, some by car - we all arrived with the same feeling - enough experimenting with our state. Enough blockades.

Enough rulings that are not implemented. Enough divisions. Enough silence while our state is held hostage. But today we are not victims. Today we are - witnesses. And fighters.

Look at each other. There are no political parties here. There are no flags here except one - the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the state and nation we fought for in 1992 and which we will not give up.

We will not give it up to those who think it is a protectorate, nor a condominium of neighbours. We will not give it up to those who block the rulings of the Constitutional Court. We will not give it up to those who divide state property as spoils.

We will not give it up to those who fear a civic constitution - because they know that then everyone would be equal. And that is what we want. Equality. Justice. A state that functions. A state that does not divide its citizens.

Tonight we have no illusions. The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) meets tomorrow. Perhaps they will not listen to us. Perhaps they will make decisions that are not in our favour.

But one thing is certain - they have seen us, they have heard us. And they will never again be able to say they did not know. Because we are here. We are the state. We are Bosnia - said Kulenović.

In the continuation of his speech, he said, he will read six "our" positions - loudly, clearly and without fear. "And afterwards - we go home, but not as defeated. We go as people who told the truth before the whole world - alert, united, unyielding".

"Today we gathered here to send a clear message to the PIC. Our message has six points.

‣ Do not touch the Office of the High Representative until the 5+2 conditions are met. Abolishing or weakening the OHR in the midst of the biggest crisis since Dayton would be disastrous;

‣ We demand the implementation of rulings of the Constitutional Court of BiH and the European Court of Human Rights. Blockades must not be rewarded;

‣ The new High Representative should be from a European country, with high international credibility, to lead us from Dayton to Brussels;

‣ We expect the resolution of state property according to European legal standards, and full engagement in preserving the sovereignty, territorial integrity and international subjectivity of BiH;

‣ We defend the status of a sovereign state and the Bosnian nation acquired through international recognition in 1992. A protectorate was never established - and will not be. But neither will a condominium of Serbia and Croatia;

‣ We demand a civic constitution. Equality and equal rights for all citizens, without blockades, is a condition for lasting peace", Kulenović concluded his address.