Minister of Bad EPP Elmedin Konaković: The state is defended by action, not by reaction and crying ‘do not glorify Dodik’

Written by: Rasim Belko

It is not his problem that he is an apprentice in diplomacy, but that he thinks the PR activity is omnipotent to conceal everything problematic, undone or wrongly done. Today, Konaković attempted a marketing bluff to shift the burden of pressure onto critics, i.e., the media and the public.

For that, he needed a pamphlet about the alleged glorification of Milorad Dodik. And the essence is completely different. No one glorified Dodik, but pointed to the fact that in half a year, Dodik, as a person on the blacklist and wanted list, ended up in the two strongest centers of power - Tel Aviv and Washington. How he ended up there is the least important, certainly far less significant than what he represented, agreed upon, and promised there so that his demands would be met.

While Dodik was visiting Netanyahu and the Trump administration, Konaković traveled to Gulf countries pretending to be a diplomat, but the fact that neither then nor today did he say anything concrete, or rather did not boast about anything, clearly shows that it was a trip for the sake of the trip. As they would say, he saw the road from behind.

The short-sighted Sarajevo public, the one that gave birth to Konaković and the Trojka project, mocked Dodik's diplomatic mission through the corridors of Washington, and then when they realized that deals are made in the corridors, they started with the story that those who point out the problem are glorifying Dodik.

Dodik does not need to be glorified; upon returning from his tour, he called a press conference and said “nothing will be the same anymore.” A few days later, he announced that he would do everything he was sanctioned for, and then the sanctions were lifted. Dodik also announced that he would give billions worth of lithium from Majevica for the secessionist campaign, because unlike Bosniak politicians, he does not care about 50 or 100 thousand people if he gets the state.

And then today, Konaković tells us a story about Mossad, agents, lobbyists... That same Konaković who brought his lobbyists to Sarajevo, took pictures with them, and after it turned out they were air conditioner traders, that it was some scam, that the Prosecutor's Office initiated proceedings, then Konaković said: “I'm joking!”.

A humorous diplomat, so humorous that there is no serious person who does not first laugh at him, and then anxiously follows what he does, because during the term of this apprentice in diplomacy, there is nothing good for the state and its patriots.

And instead of showing his contracts, which he boasts about or jokes about, he shows others' successes and announces that he will sue secessionists for paid lobbying, forgetting that he is the minister who strongly opposed the action of arresting secessionists for attacking the constitutional order. Come on, minister, at least joke and tell us what will happen if, based on your report, SIPA has to arrest Dodik. Come on, explain to us whether you will then also say “this is war, we will not send other people's children to die” and those nonsense you previously fired at us.

I did not watch the press conference, minister, because even if I like stand-up, bad comedy is a prelude to tragedy. And you are a tragedian for Bosniaks, because you are the only foreign minister who boasts about contacts in his phone, while a semi-serious journalist can boast of a more serious phonebook.

Maybe in the time of Moša Pijade, a phonebook would be useful to you, but today, in the age of modern technology, it is the same as saying you have a TV with all domestic channels.

Therefore, minister, instead of calling for “not hindering BiH institutions by glorifying Dodik,” step aside while it still makes sense. I know it is difficult to appoint a new minister at the end of the Council of Ministers' term, but the way you are going, the damage is much greater if you wait until the end of the term than if we have no head of diplomacy.

Because, Dodik is not to blame for fighting for his cause, the public is not to blame for pointing out that story, you, minister, are to blame; you announced that Dodik is dead, finished, you repeat that even now, and the unawareness of your own ignorance is the hardest part in this whole story.