Peaceful Bosnia against Dodik's madness, why domestic politicians are not seeking urgent BiH membership in the EU

By: E. Metaj

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It is time for BiH politicians to finally become statesmen. Ukraine is a warning to all of us, but also an opportunity for things in the Balkans to finally move from a standstill. It is unclear why no official representative of BiH has yet clearly and loudly called for BiH, like Ukraine, to join the EU via a fast track. It is clear to any layman that the 14 European priorities set for BiH only change one thing: to have a peaceful Bosnia.

The president of SNSD, Milorad Dodik, with his unstatesmanlike and hostile gesture towards BiH and the EU, has created an excellent prelude to this. His conversation with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, in the midst of the aggression against Ukraine, and the subsequent rejoicing from the Russian embassy because of it, are clear signals that the insecurity of the European continent is intended to be further inflamed through BiH. A civilized and politically wise response to this would be a clear call to the EU to save its security by admitting BiH. This would be a message of peace and political prudence around which a broader front in BiH can and should gather than one that will cheer for the readiness to show muscles and determination to fight with Dodik and his like-minded individuals.

Dodik's readiness to be on the side of those who plunge mothers in their own country into mourning through aggression is the real momentum that the mostly reactionary policies from Sarajevo fail to recognize. Instead of them, Croatian President Zoran Milanović is doing it today, who, no matter how crude and hostile he may be towards BiH, understands the bigger picture created by the war in Ukraine. The only alternative to war is peace, and it must be preserved in BiH at all costs, which is why Milanović is asking the EU to admit the Western Balkan countries into the European family. That is where they belong. Unlike Bosnian-Herzegovinian politicians who, like bad poets, talk about the winds of change, the statesmen from Kosovo are loud and clear. Thus, today, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, requested NATO membership for BiH and her country.

Perhaps the applause that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, received from the European parliamentarians seems emotional and impressive, but it will be too late for BiH if domestic politicians wait for that moment of glory. The Germans, MEPs, recently showed that the EU has become aware of the importance of peace in BiH by demanding that NATO deploy troops in BiH, which it has the right to do. Those troops guarantee peace, and domestic politicians should continue to push this idea.

It is time for a new strong wave of diplomatic activities abroad, through which things would be accelerated through BiH's friends. It is time for a rational step forward in seeking internal consensus on the future of BiH. Membership in the EU is something that can still unite people from all parts of BiH, because it is no secret that the majority of the population in both entities still supports it. The demand for urgent membership of BiH in the EU would also be the final test of Dodik's commitment. It is time for BiH to divide itself into two sides: those who are for peace and those who wish for war, and with it, the pain and tears that are inevitable on every side.

Instead of buying rifles, it is time for political forces in both entities to gather and show Europe that civilized people live here. It is never too late for rifles; if we don't buy them, others will send them to us. They will not care how many people in BiH will suffer again; they will only care that we fight within the borders of BiH. Everything changes by joining the EU.