Media ignore Preporod because our work does not suit political rulers

The Assembly of BZK Preporod, at its session held in December last year, re-elected Prof. Dr. Senadin Lavić as president.

At the beginning of the interview for the Patria news agency, Prof. Dr. Lavić summarized the past years of BZK Preporod's work and answered the question of whether he was satisfied with the achieved results.

LAVIĆ:Yes, that's right. At the 12th electoral assembly of Preporod, I once again received the majority support of the Assembly members. The past period was turbulent, complex, and uncertain. We shared the fate of the entire Bosnian society and had to "adapt" to trends. We managed to maintain Preporod and offer several important projects: four scientific conferences on the state of BiH and Bosniaks, an award for drama, awards for children's works in literature and visual arts, scientific conferences on writers A. Sidran, Dž. Karahasan, and S. Mahmutefendić, the publication of several valuable books about Bosnia and Bosniaks, the publication of the XI cycle (5 books) of the edition "Bosniak Literature in 100 Books", the Census 2013 campaign, assistance to children in Konjević Polje, exhibitions of paintings and presentation of young painters at the Preporod gallery, organizing gatherings and forums throughout BiH, strengthening the Preporod network in the field, participation in numerous gatherings and lectures abroad, connecting BZK Preporod with Bosniak institutions in the USA, European countries, and especially with Bosniak institutions in Turkey, etc... This is only part of our activities.

PATRIA: What is the plan for the next period? What activities will be the focus?

LAVIĆ: We are now turning the guidelines and plans for the next four years into an operational program. The primary orientation is towards young people and motivating them to develop their talents through programs that will reflect Bosniak culture. Continuing Preporod's initiated projects, but with new people. We are working on launching new editions and projects of special importance for Bosnia and Bosniaks. For this, we need new financial resources. Developing the scientific and cultural process in Preporod as the basis for the development and harmonization of the Bosniak cultural form in our time. And it is especially important to emphasize that in Preporod we support the development of the Bosniak elite spirit, which is based on knowledge. Our primary struggle is against reducing the potential of our most talented young people to mediocrity. We will try to encourage, support, and stimulate the best among our young scientists to fulfill their careers with scientific research dedicated to Bosnia, Bosniaks, and the most important fields (disciplines) of world science. This is a combination that ensures progress and qualitative change. Moreover, through persistent work, a new awareness must emerge among young people who have a gift for science or cultural activities in general.

PATRIA: Somehow I can't shake the impression, but BZK Preporod is not commenting on some important substantive issues for Bosniaks, and these are extremely turbulent times. The last "more serious" activity was regarding the census. Why this silence?

LAVIĆ: Perhaps we have other forms of action besides public statements. And you probably haven't noticed our letters and our protests regarding certain events and phenomena in society. The other day, we issued a statement regarding the attempts of the authorities of the "rs" entity to erase from the face of the earth the houses in Višegrad where Serb criminals and terrorists burned Bosniak civilians, women, and children. Almost every day, Preporod reacts to something – either the president speaks publicly or Preporod's bodies send letters, warnings, requests, and the like. The impression of silence, it seems, is not quite accurate. It is another matter that the media do not follow this or that in some content we have to act like "undercover agents" so that our activities are not obstructed before the goal. Many media are controlled and managed from abroad! Since we have refrained from populist forms of action in our work, it is clear that we have not been interesting to media channels of exclusivism and cynical consciousness. Scientific conferences, for example, which we have held regularly from 2011 to 2014, were not at all "interesting" to the media, or they deliberately misinterpreted them because political rulers or media owners did not want the scientific analyses offered by numerous participants of these conferences from home and abroad.

Therefore, the perception that Preporod is silent is not true at all; on the contrary, we have had turbulent years behind us, evidenced by concrete actions. Hundreds and hundreds of activities lie behind us in the past period. It is another matter, however, someone's perception of Preporod's place and tasks within the Bosniak structure. The unfortunate fact is that some critical mentality has already devised and prepared a role that Preporod is supposedly supposed to fulfill. Some demand that we react to political events, others demand that we criticize some phenomenon, third ones are indignant about the robbery of workers, fourth ones about the division of Bosnia into entities, etc... Preporod, as a cultural institution, has its bodies, and these bodies agree on the main directions of action. Our mission is not daily political action.

PATRIA: What, in your opinion, is the primary national interest of Bosniaks?

LAVIĆ: The state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its prosperity. I think this has become clear to every Bosniak on the planet and to every sincere Bosnian. There is no haggling or negotiation about this. The state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the fulfillment of a thousand-year existence of the historical, cultural, national, political, and economic form called Bosnia (it was first mentioned in the 10th century in the sentence "to horion Bosona"). All our actions must be subordinated to strengthening and developing our state.

PATRIA: Do Bosniaks, I mean the political factor, have true representatives in the front lines who can represent not only the interests of Bosniaks but also the state of BiH, for which we as a nation are most responsible?

LAVIĆ: This is not primarily a question of ethnic representatives here, but a lack of a political Bosnian-Herzegovinian program that can consolidate our scattered ethno-politics into a meaningful form of state prosperity. A political program, therefore, represents the basis that enables valid action in the future. I do not believe in ethnic representation in a multi-ethnic political community, because it neglects the quality of people and encourages conflict as a means of manipulation by the average and incompetent. This should be left to the field of culture, while politics should be the most responsible activity of people concerning the "polis", community, and state, which transcends ethnic representation and respects laws. We have been imposed a form of political oligarchy around which all our political metaphysics has revolved in recent years. We have almost come to believe that our lives have no meaning without them and their figures. The role of politicians, intellectuals, clergy, businessmen, workers, fighters, and many social categories must finally be defined in a new way.

I think we should rather pay attention to programs that teams of capable people would implement in the interest of Bosnia's progress. We should distinguish between political operatives, intellectual support, and people with investment potential or financial institutions. And this should be networked into a powerful form of action. And these stories about leaders and representatives only mislead us into truly believing that we can do nothing without a leader. Each of us is responsible for ourselves and our actions. I cannot hide behind the president, party leader, reis, rector, my father, and so on, if I have not fulfilled my obligations and carried out my task in the social system. I fear that there are too many people around us who are doing just that – there is always someone behind them, and they can't do anything. We must learn to take responsibility for our actions and deeds ourselves.

PATRIA: Do Bosniaks need a leader, as is often discussed, and does this "lack" actually affect our fragmentation?

LAVIĆ: At this historical moment, Bosniaks need a state system and expert teams to work on overcoming the crisis. I have never believed in leaders or chiefs who can change the situation in society with a magic wand. I also do not believe in experts for writing "research proposals" and hollow "feasibility studies for project x" from which no one has ever benefited. The matter must be approached differently. It is actually about forming a team of people from a certain field, presenting them with a problem, letting them reason about that problem among themselves, letting them devise a solution path, and letting them solve the problem. Solving the problem, therefore, is the measure of the value of individuals and teams. In our case, it happens that an "expert writes down an idea" and offers it, for example, to workers to solve it. But they don't know how and can't. Someone must help the robbed workers. We are all responsible for the social content and its functioning. A leader is one in a team who is equal to others and the most responsible among them. He is not an epic savior. We need to rationalize the issue of conducting politics,

The terrorist attack in Paris is the crime of criminals

PATRIA: As the head of BZK Preporod, how do you view the recent events related to the terrorist attack in Paris?

LAVIĆ: The terrorist attack in Paris is the crime of criminals. One day we will find out who organized it and why. Crime can never be justified. We need to free ourselves from speculative constructions and primarily view this event as a crime for which someone must be held accountable. On the other hand, it is also incomprehensible why someone feels the need to mock the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Muslims? Where does this behavior come from? Why caricatures that offend the religious feelings of Muslims and cause them emotional pain? Why? The excuse "we make caricatures of the Pope and Christian priests" cannot be valid. What is freedom of expression? Where is the limit? Can everything be mocked, offended, humiliated, caricatured? Where are the boundaries of good taste and civilization? We should think seriously about these issues! The crime in Paris is not a clash of civilizations, because civilizations do not wage war, but armies that pursue someone's interests for oil, gold, or gas. There is nothing more to it than a crime, a deliberate evil deed, because it serves to impose fear and realize ideas that could not be achieved through normal, legal means. Thus, in 1992-1995, the Serb fascist-expansionist aggression against the Republic of BiH created an "entity" on mass graves of Bosniaks, while the public was manipulated with stories about "Muslim extremists." No one from the "civilized world" lifted a finger for four years until the peoples in Bosnia were separated and until the blood-delineated border of the "entity" became visible. Then the "civilized people" in Dayton recognized the results of the genocide and formalized it in the imposed constitution, which was smuggled into Annex IV. This is the context in which the citizens of Paris and Sarajevo have suffered in the last twenty-five years. Today, we in BiH are terrorized by various psychopaths with the constant repetition of the story that Bosnia must disappear. This is also terror.

We witness that one can be European and Muslim at the same time

PATRIA: Can this attack, but also the consequences it is already causing, lead to a change in the political landscape of Europe, which would naturally be reflected in our country?

LAVIĆ: Bosnia has nothing to do with this crime, and I don't know why we are unnecessarily defending ourselves, apologizing, and fussing. However, we are contextually connected to the European world. I must say immediately: "Je suis Senadin." We fear that someone might associate us with something suspicious or that the Serb intelligence-propaganda network might play a trick on us and embarrass us in front of the European public. This primitive Serb propaganda network has been demonizing Bosniaks as Islamists for decades. It reduces the entire Bosniak nation to a fanatical religious group that is a threat – "that's why Serb soldiers had to kill Bosniak civilians and expel them from BiH." This is the monstrous logic of Serb propaganda. At this moment, it is quite enough to express civic sympathy to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack in Paris. We are with Paris today! We understand, among other things, in the dialectic of the inverted order, that these are attacks on Muslims and Islam in France through the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Whoever shot at the cartoonists is actually not even aware that he shot at Muslims. Many citizens of France, it should be reminded, expressed sympathy with us when Serb soldiers were killing us in Bosnia. This was not just a sign of solidarity, but above all a human confirmation of understanding our pain and suffering. Ordinary citizens of Europe helped Bosnia in various ways. On the other hand, however, European governments and politicians gave up in the nineties on defending Sarajevo and Bosnia against the Greater Serb Nazis led by Milošević. They missed the opportunity in 1992 to stop the public genocide against Bosniaks and the destruction of the Republic of BiH. Europe then betrayed itself and no longer has the moral capacity to be a beacon for anyone.

We should not forget people like Douglas R. Hurd and John Major, who gave a thumbs-up to Milošević's killers! It has already been said that their tombstones will bear the inscription – BOSNIA! They acted anti-European. They were destroying Europe with their ruling cynicism and racist-religious exclusivity. Their primitive policy brought killers to European cities! Here we must be careful with the deceptions of the journalistic and intelligence apparatus and clearly emphasize – Muslims did not commit the crime, but criminals did. These are the new "Šešelj's," "Arkan's," "Scorpions," "Jokers," "Panthers" who, just twenty years ago, were killing in Bijeljina, Zvornik, Prijedor, Vitez, Višegrad, Srebrenica... Unarmed Bosniaks under embargo could not completely stop them! Now the killers are in other places and continue their crimes across Europe.

In Europe today, there are conservative forces, the right wing is active with racist concepts and hatred towards foreigners and immigrant communities, especially of Muslim origin. Europe is today in a transformation that is epochal and far-reaching. It must not be imprisoned in clerical-fundamentalist and racist forms of organization, because its future is not based on worldviews and ideological visions, but on scientific rationality, equality of citizens and peoples, multi-ethnic and multi-religious richness, human rights and freedoms. In this world, everything is connected, and of course, there are contextual dependencies and reflections on the Bosnian state, but it is important that the European rationalist consciousness prevails in our country.

Undoubtedly, we are historically and politically part of the European world or a part of the European cultural-historical space in which we share the fate of a large number of people, but also the fate of our own identity. Because of our identity, our immediate neighbors have tried to eradicate us and push us from the space we have lived in for centuries. We have a terrible, years-long experience of Serb terrorism. And today we are discovering mass graves made by Serb terrorists in Bosnia over Bosniak civilians. We absolutely understand the French people and their misfortune in Paris, because the pain of Bosniaks is entirely European. We witness that one can be European and Muslim at the same time.

Intellectuals are cowards who appear when everything is over

PATRIA: When we look at neighboring countries, whenever there are important issues, academics, intellectuals, academies of sciences speak out. What is happening with us in BiH? Why, for example, does the Academy of Sciences and Arts of BiH not comment on any important issue?

LAVIĆ: Intellectuals are a special kind. They are primarily cowards who appear on the historical stage when everything is over. In our country, and especially among the Bosniak people, intellectuals are trained not to speak "in their own language," not to mention their Bosnian and Bosniak destiny, not to talk about the genocide committed against them by their immediate neighbors, to pretend as if nothing happened, to be without "color and smell" or without an opinion, to be suffering objects, to hide their own identity, to conform, to consider silence great wisdom, and critical stance and "boldness of expression" mere naivety... That's what's happening to us. What are intellectuals when they do not reflect on the suffering and poverty of their community? Intellectuals themselves have accepted being pushed to the social margins. Does this mean they are no longer intellectuals? What kind of intellectuals are they who do not have a formed opinion on Greater Serb and Greater Croatian hegemonism or who do not dare to speak about the illegal state into which we have been brought by aggression and the Dayton Peace Agreement? Are they intellectuals who remain silent while party cadres destroy anyone who critically opposes them? Where are the intellectuals with their ideas, opinions, projects?

On the other hand, intellectuals are jealous of political operatives. They would like to have secretaries, cars, benefits, lovers, power, social status... They think they would all be better party leaders, parliament leaders, better ministers or heads of state! They have an unrealistic image of themselves and are not effective at all. What kind of intellectuals are they who do not know the difference between a name (Bosniak) and a description ("Bosnian Muslim," "Herzegovinian spirit")? Intellectuals are people who empathize with the community in which they live and try to offer it some ideas for improving people's social life. They should not be egoists and egomaniacs who think that everything starts and ends with them.

The Academy, unfortunately, has been silent for a long time and has not offered any strategic plan for the future of the state and its development. We must raise the question about the Academy of Sciences and Arts of BiH in our time. The Academy and the University should be the backbone of our development and prosperity.

Preporod is not a political party or a religious community

PATRIA: Can Preporod, as a cultural institution of Bosniaks, an institution that gathers Bosniak intellectuals of various backgrounds, serve as a connecting tissue among Bosniak politicians, try to strengthen the state-building consciousness that they clearly lack through this cultural and national enlightenment?

LAVIĆ: Many people in our society assign difficult tasks to Preporod. There are numerous demands... It should be known that Preporod cannot and must not impersonate an academy, a university chair, a state institution, or anything similar, because we do not want to undermine social institutions in this way and create parallel institutions and systems unnecessarily. Preporod is also not a political party or a religious community. I think that today Bosniak politics does not understand what "Preporod" is, what its importance is, and what its content is. We have a terrible problem of authority among the Bosniak people, or rather, questions about who has the legitimacy to be considered the most important, most responsible, or most significant among Bosniaks. With this approach, it is quite clear that we are expressing awareness of the traditional understanding of the place of the "first" – whether it is religious, scientific, or political authority? This traditional approach greatly hinders us in a serious approach to the problems of our social reality. The problem within the Bosniak order has been ongoing for a long time, at least since the beginning of the 20th century, and things have not yet fallen into place in accordance with the time and context in which we live. We have not yet resolved this issue in the European way, according to which every place in the social system is clearly defined. In Europe, it is well known where religion belongs in society, where science belongs, the place of politicians, businessmen, and so on. Why the question of the most important in a traditional way? Can we break free from these outdated, old schemes and forms of consciousness if we do not learn, do not educate ourselves, do not think, but passively follow old prejudices... Why have we forgotten the issue of honor? Where has respect between different human positions disappeared? Why does someone constantly reduce us to a religious group and categorize us as "clerical behavior in male affairs"? Can we in Europe be a free people, and also Muslims? These are questions we cannot avoid and to which we must provide answers. Our politics is darkened, unprofiled, and completely limited. Of course, exceptions exist, which can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Most people in politics, unfortunately, have never crossed the threshold of "Preporod" and talked with the people who work there as volunteers in very complex historical circumstances. For many politicians, it is unimaginable to talk to people from culture, science, or art. They only talk to people from religious institutions because they can help them gain power and nothing more. The main characteristic of our politics is its immaturity for the historical moment, and our enemies are using this. Bosniak politics, finally, does not understand the primary importance of culture for the elevation of the Bosniak people.