Nikšić: We are sure that an independent BiH as a member of NATO and the EU will not remain a dream

Nermin Nikšić, leader of the SDP, congratulated all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the Independence Day of our homeland, the day when citizens said a historic "yes" to an independent, sovereign Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"In this way, at a time when the former country was disintegrating, the renewal of Bosnian-Herzegovinian statehood took place. Unfortunately, today we do not have much reason to celebrate. Our country is currently mostly at the top of the lists for negative records. Few can remember any positive records. According to the recently published Democracy Index, we are at a historic low. We are behind Uganda, Zambia, and Sierra Leone, ranking 101st. Countries like Botswana, Namibia, and Papua New Guinea are 'light years' ahead of us.

For the first time, we have been marked as a hybrid, undemocratic regime, one step away from autocracy. There are many reasons for this – from a regime-controlled judiciary and law enforcement agencies, a corrupt government where scandals are a reference point, not a shame, to an electoral system where vote theft is a practice, and counting votes in accordance with the will of the citizens is a 'luxury' that state institutions, courts, and election commissions do not want to afford citizens.

We are the only country in Europe where a system of governance, including the electoral system, has been established that has been characterized by international judgments as racist and discriminatory. In terms of citizen vaccination against Covid-19, we are behind Myanmar and Cambodia. That is why we are at the top of the list for the mortality rate from the Covid-19 virus relative to the total population, and at the very bottom of the European list for the number of tests performed. We are the only country in the world that does not have a plan and strategy to combat the virus at the national level. We are still waiting for the vaccine, just as we are waiting for new kilometers of highway, new laws to support the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, etc. In terms of highway kilometers, we are behind Burma, Vietnam, Mauritius, and Guatemala on world lists, and in this parameter too, we are on par with Zambia, which seems to have become the gold standard for the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We are daily in the black chronicles of world media due to the shameful reaction to the migrant crisis and the non-transparent spending of millions of euros in international aid to resolve the crisis in accordance with standards. I could go on listing, but I will stop here out of respect for today, and certainly not for those who have brought us to this state.

We in the SDP will continue to oppose the situation in the best way we know how – with solutions. We have already proposed several initiatives and laws beneficial to citizens that would mitigate the negatives I spoke about, although the parliamentary majority has mostly rejected them. We have called for the introduction of a state Ministry of Health, constitutional reforms, and reforms of the electoral legislation in accordance with international judgments. We have also proposed a comprehensive law on economic measures against the Covid-19 virus.

Soon, our Law on Support for Returnees to Srebrenica will be adopted in the Canton of Sarajevo, and we will propose a similar law at all levels. In the state Parliament, we will soon propose the adoption of a Plan for the implementation of 14 recommendations of the European Parliament, with clear responsibilities and deadlines. We do not expect it to be adopted, but we expect citizens to recognize that we are different from them, that we have a plan, and that we offer solutions.

Finally, I can now say that we will welcome the next Independence Day with an SDP mayor of the country's capital, a man who, unlike all of us who said a historic 'yes', said an equally important historic 'no' which prevented the occupation of our country and ensured that independence did not remain a dead letter on paper and just a dream. We are sure that an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina as a member of NATO and the EU will not be a dream, and that starting next year, together with our partners, we will lead Bosnia and Herzegovina where it belongs, into the community of modern, developed European democracies," Nikšić stated.