Nikšić: Izetbegović and Čović humiliated the state of BiH in the same way as Milorad Dodik

(Patria) - I thought it was important to wait and hear what the participants had to say, in order to judge yesterday's meeting between Izetbegović and Čović with Plenković, said Nermin Nikšić, president of the SDP, in a reaction.

"Unfortunately, the messages sent and the results of that meeting only confirmed the doubts and beliefs that neither SDA has an idea, nor a vision, nor in the end the desire to stand up for the state, nor does HDZ, from this side or the other side of the border, have the intention to treat Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens equally with other states and nations. Izetbegović's messages about dialogue between Croats and Bosniaks, and the silence on the statement from Plenković's office that a meeting was held with non-existent representatives of the people, are proof of the visit's harm. Izetbegović's acceptance of the anti-Bosnian and unconstitutional concept of representatives of the people, as presented on the international stage, is a defeat for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Nothing else is to be expected from Čović, Plenković, and the rest of the Greater Croatian political scene. I think the same about Milanović's actions, and I have clearly stated that. Unfortunately, this visit confirmed SDA's commitment to promoting the racist concept of "legitimate" representatives on the international stage. After all, Čović was already promised a third entity in the Mostar agreement and the recognition of this discriminatory idea through amendments to the BiH Election Law. No matter how much he tries to "defend" his associates Komšić and Džaferović, it is clear why Izetbegović met with Plenković in the company of Čović and his private Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The only reason is that he considers himself and Čović as legitimate leaders of their tribes, while the other two are just occasional political decorations for domestic use. It is clear why bilateral interstate problems were not resolved at the meeting. Neither Plenković wanted to recognize the state character of the meeting, nor did Izetbegović and Čović. In the end, by talking about a fictional, extra-institutional "dialogue between Bosniaks and Croats", Izetbegović and Čović humiliated the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the same way as Milorad Dodik did in the company of Milanović and Plenković. Moreover, they only confirmed Dodik's theses about the state's dysfunctionality.

I want to clearly reiterate once again that the Social Democratic Party of BiH will never agree to the concept of so-called legitimate representation. We will never give up on a democratic, European Bosnia and Herzegovina and a civic structure as mandated by the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Amendments to the Election Law according to the wishes and hopes of Zagreb and Belgrade, the same ones from the nineties, will never pass as long as we have a say in it, and we do have a say," Nikšić stated.