Nationalists Roam BiH Ahead of Elections: Ceca in Lukavica, Thompson Sang in Busovača...

Serbian folk singer Ceca, wife of the murdered war criminal Željko Ražnatović Arkan, who is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Bosniak civilians during the Serbian aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, will hold a concert at the FK Slavija stadium in Lukavica on August 30th this year, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

At the beginning of this month, Croatian singer Marko Perković Thompson, also known for his nationalist songs, also performed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On August 8th, he first performed in Odžak, five days later in Busovača, and two days after that in Livno.

Interestingly, both Ceca and Thompson are performing in Bosnia and Herzegovina two months before the General Elections, which will be held on October 12th this year. Those in the know associate Ceca's arrival in Lukavica with Milorad Dodik, the president of SNSD and Republika Srpska, who has also announced his arrival in Lukavica, while sources close to these political parties confirmed to Patria that HDZ is responsible for Thompson's arrival in BiH.

Political analysts have no doubt that the arrival of singers like Ceca and Thompson in BiH, especially in the pre-election period, has only one role: to secure as many votes as possible for nationalist parties in the upcoming elections.

Bosniaks from Busovača, with whom Patria journalists spoke a few days after the concert, say that the atmosphere during Thompson's performance in central Bosnia was reminiscent of the period before the conflicts in 1992, and that they never felt comfortable. Thompson revived some war stories in Busovača.

The tension in Busovača was felt for several days after the concert, especially among young men of Croatian nationality, who did not hesitate to wear t-shirts with Thompson's image, and to play his songs much louder in local cafes than they did before the concert.

- It was not easy for Bosniaks in Busovača during Thompson's concert - said one of Patria's interlocutors, who was afraid to reveal his identity. He says it's best not to be too exposed during such times and in such a place.

- The concert was secured by strong police forces, but the atmosphere was so heated that one incident would have been enough for the whole thing to get out of control. That day, the whole of Busovača was marked by Croatian nationalist symbols and songs - he says.

Bosniaks did not feel any more comfortable in Livno either, where the nationalist slogan: "Za dom - spremni" (For the homeland - ready), echoed throughout Livno that Friday. The sound system was so loud that Thompson's voice could be heard as far as four kilometers from the concert venue, which lasted until two in the morning and where more alcohol was consumed than in all Livno taverns in a month.

- It is clear that concerts like these and singers like these aim to distance both Croats and Serbs from Bosnia and Herzegovina as their homeland and bring them closer to Serbia and Croatia. In other words, their concerts ensure victory for nationalists, not for political parties and politicians who are for the progress of BiH. All of this sends a very bad message - concludes Patria's interlocutor from Livno.