Muhasilović on 'hysteria' over Iranian minister: BiH has always been Western, but that was apparently not enough, Osmorka, HDZ and SNSD are hypocritical!

Interview by A. Čorbo-Zećo

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Unfathomable and extremely dangerous hysteria arose yesterday after Foreign Minister Bisera Turković, and later member of the Collegium of the House of Peoples Bakir Izetbegović, held a meeting with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, who was visiting Sarajevo.
Other members of the Collegium (HDZ and SNSD), as well as Denis Zvizdić (NIP), refused to meet with the Iranian minister!?

Extremely undiplomatic, and due to currying favor with Western embassies!? However, they should recall their also excessive hysteria when the media unleashed their pens on Željko Komšić and Šefik Džaferović for refusing to meet with Sergey Lavrov!

Complete political madness, full of hypocrisy, reigns in BiH. Jahja Muhasilović, professor of international relations and geopolitics, speaks in an interview with Patria about the current political scene in BiH.

How did you perceive the behavior of a part of the politicians in BiH and their refusal to meet with the Iranian minister who was on an official visit to BiH?

“I think this is a media spin that is unfortunately formed in foreign embassies, primarily Western ones, that one must go exclusively in the direction set by foreign diplomats, and anything that deviates from that track is condemned. Unfortunately, we saw this in the behavior of the media yesterday, as well as in the behavior of certain politicians, primarily from Osmorka, who rushed to condemn the arrival of the Iranian ambassador. We also saw the behavior of HDZ and SNSD, who refused to meet with the minister. A deliberate dichotomy, or rather a geopolitical polarization, is being created where the pro-Bosnian side is primarily expected to align with the West. The pro-Bosnian side has certainly been Western for years, but it has been shown in the context of what has been happening in BiH in recent months that this has not satisfied appetites.”

Why and who is putting BiH in a position to choose between two historically friendly countries, I mean Iran and the USA?

“Anyone who stands against this policy is condemned through the media instrument as a harmful politician, as we saw in the case of Minister Bisera Turković, who was slandered by some politicians, and on social networks for her diplomatic behavior. On the other hand, BiH is faced with the challenge of having to condemn what the Iranian regime is doing. This is not the smartest position that BiH should take, not only because Iran proved to be a friendly country during the war in the 90s, when it helped us the most and most concretely, but also because BiH is a small country and has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. On the other hand, it cannot support what is happening in Iran, but I think a neutral position is the most realistic.”

Aleksandar Vučić also received the Iranian minister for a visit the day before. The media in BiH are completely silent. On the other hand, we see that he is successfully resisting EU pressure regarding Serbia's stance on Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Can we then say that there are not many statesmen in BiH who know what they are doing and how?

"It seems that only BiH is not allowed to sit 'on two chairs'. Serbia is doing it more concretely and better. We also remember that Dragan Čović went to Moscow and Israel outside of any diplomatic procedures, as did Dodik, but we did not have such pressure. In the end, by fulfilling Čović's wishes through the imposition of the Election Law, it was shown that sitting on two chairs pays off, and Dodik is also tolerated for everything he does, even the fact that he stole the elections!"

But what does that say about our politicians? Can a politician who forgets Iran's important role in the defense of BiH be called pro-Bosnian?

“Iran is a legitimate state recognized by the UN. Americans have no problem sitting with Iranians. In BiH, this is a problem. Obviously, there is hypocrisy. The Osmorka wants to be in power at any cost and remains silent on the maximalist demands and requests of HDZ and SNSD. We could see this in the behavior of Osmorka. This part of the BiH political spectrum does not have that statesmanlike behavior; they have not offered us any strategy or plan, they have allowed themselves to be inferior to a small HDZ.

The other side of the pro-Bosnian spectrum is antagonized as the most harmful political factor, while remaining silent on the fact that HDZ and SNSD have been actively destroying BiH for decades, trying to divide it.

I fear that someone's goal is to radicalize Bosniaks. And that is a possible scenario. Perhaps in that radicalization, Bosniaks will start making mistakes, thus legitimizing the marginalization of their political will. Perhaps for the creation of some confederation, which would result in the division of Bosnia.”

And how did it happen that Čović suddenly forgot the principle of legitimacy?

“We see hypocritical behavior from both HDZ and Osmorka. As for Čović, he has advocated for the principle of legitimacy for years, however, he now says that regardless of the number of delegates, he is ready to enter government with Osmorka, even though they have fewer votes and delegates within the House of Peoples. He has shown himself to be a hypocrite and has trampled on the long-standing principle he advocated for.

Osmorka has criticized the ruling party for years for their alliance with HDZ and SNSD. They are doing the same thing. They haven't even clearly indicated any red lines. Their only red line is that SDA does not enter the government, which calls into question their political intentions.”