Continuation of the 'Blood and Soil' Policy: Without HDZ's Empathy for Others, There Must Be No Compromise

Written by: Ernad Metaj

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The best thing that could have happened to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the negotiations on amendments to the Election Law and the Constitution of BiH was the session of the House of Peoples of the State Parliament held yesterday. HDZ could not hold out; they completely laid bare their own policy and showed that the people representing it are far from the self-proclaimed 'bearers of European values'. By attempting, together with Serbian delegates in the Parliament of BiH, to annul the amendments to the Criminal Code of BiH that prohibit the denial of genocide and all crimes, they sent a clear message to Bosniaks that they are not ready for genuine reconciliation and that their insistence on legitimate representation means a continuation of the 'blood and soil' policy in which there is and will be no place for others and those who are different.

With his radical stances, Dragan Čović did himself a disservice, further pushing away the SDA and its representatives, leaving them no room for a possible compromise that would allow the minority to preserve the comfort of blocking institutions, from which no one except politicians and tycoons benefits. Under the guise of the endangerment of one people, because Dragan Čović never even bothered to awaken empathy for another people, 150 decisions were blocked in the Parliament of the Federation of BiH, including 37 laws that should have benefited those who elect the government. Instead, MPs and delegates regularly bill citizens for their inaction and blockades.

Let us be objective: the crisis we are experiencing today is merely a further radicalization of the situation in which BiH has been since 2017. Even then, the story of amendments to the election law was current; there were threats of a boycott, but elections were held nonetheless. Even then, Dragan Čović, with his hardline stance, pushed away the hand of the SDA, which had been his lever for achieving most of his unrealistic desires for years. Even then, the exclusive policy of HDZ forced the president of the SDA to clearly state that the 'all or nothing' policy leads to getting nothing.

Čović lost the elections, but the SDA remained committed to him. Years of stagnation on the European path followed, a new radicalization, and a complete blockade of the state, with which HDZ continues to provoke the stance that it should no longer be given anything. Izetbegović is not threatening Croats, as Čović tries to present; this time, the leader of the SDA is saving his own skin and the reputation of the SDA, which has finally realized that any further concessions in terms of creating special electoral units simply leads to the final division of BiH. In this regard, it is also important that certain parties from Sarajevo, especially the SBB, driven by antagonism towards the SDA, stop looking for the culprit for the situation in BiH where there is none.

To anyone who follows political developments more seriously, it is clear that Izetbegović is not happy because he must distance himself from the demands of HDZ. This also undermines the matrix on which the SDA has survived until now, but at this moment, the state is simply more important than narrow party interests. Izetbegović himself clearly emphasized this by stating that they have been in politics for a long time and will survive.

It is hard to believe that key individuals in the SDA have ideologically renounced the politics of enclosures, but at least they have realized that its current practical application has not benefited any flock. The wolves are still numerous, but the flocks are getting smaller. There should be no illusions that the matrix of the importance of being a Bosniak has faded, as also indicated by the appeal of Reis-ul-ulema Husein Kavazović about the need to renew the social contract in BiH.

His assessment is correct that Bosniaks have less and less credit from the past with representatives of the international community, which is why they must re-examine their own interests as well as those of other peoples. This is desirable as long as the SDA and all others who wish BiH well adhere to the civilizational and democratic values reflected in the judgments of the Human Rights Court. Foreign diplomats may be willing to trample on their own values for their own benefit, but within BiH, there is simply no more room for compromise on rights and justice.

It is simple: those who deny genocide and crimes are ready to commit them again, and they must not be given new space to do so. Legitimate representation is a continuation of ethnic cleansing that cannot be completed peacefully. That is why it is important that the SDA does not falter again, nor anyone else who cares about a unified BiH, because there will be elections, as in 2018, only this time they need to be fair and honest.