Defending the truth is our opportunity to save future generations from lies, myths, and crimes!

Prepared by: Prof. Dr. Bakir Alispahić

Somewhat far from what is the subject of my scientific study, I want to draw attention to an important issue, or rather a problem that actually reflects the situation we are in as a society-state.

It is a crisis, undoubtedly, one of the biggest since the signing of Dayton – which brought relative peace, in the sense that it's not shooting, but the aggression has not stopped. I am concerned and extremely disappointed by the fact that, along with political elites who are clearly driving in three diametrically opposed directions in their actions, intellectuals, instead of offering concrete advice and playing a progressive role, are engaged in public debates about who among them is right, which further confuses the citizens of BiH.

I don't know if absolute truth exists, but it is important to understand what our commitment is – lies or truth. It is the duty of every citizen, especially the academic community – to strive for truth based on arguments.

Dobrica Ćosić, the 'Father of the Serbian Nation', the ideologue of Serbian lies and the cause of Serbian genocides and ethnic cleansing at the end of the 20th century, defined a lie. He said – we lie to deceive ourselves, to comfort others; we lie out of compassion, we lie out of shame, to encourage, to hide our misery, we lie for honesty. We lie for freedom. Lying is a form of Serbian patriotism and a confirmation of our innate intelligence. We lie creatively, imaginatively, inventively". So, I ask myself here, before you, have we come to this situation where we live Dobrica's imagination!

Yes, we lie to ourselves and participate in propaganda directed against the state, led by aggressor countries and their allies?

And, opposite to lies is truth. Truth is not everything that is understandable. I cannot shake the impression that certain groups of people in BiH are meeting and forming a conspiracy against the truth. Everything is based on lies, with everyone telling the same false story, thinking that a lie told many times becomes the truth!

Truth is not what makes people feel good. Unfortunately, bad news can be true. And we have allowed ourselves to be convinced that the suspension of the constitution to form a government is welcome and a completely correct move. Everything was based on a skillfully crafted doctrine of propagating lies. The defeat is greater because intellectuals participated in the propaganda effect, which was ultimately astonishing. All of this has led us to the area of my expertise – compromised security and general chaos.

Why is this important? First, to understand today that our firm stance 'that we are right' even if it is based on facts' is not enough, because BiH needs much more than claims that only our truth is the truth.

First, it is necessary to realize that we live in a world and environment of lies, and often we may not even be aware of it. For example, the recent war in BiH is falsely presented as a civil war, in a way that suggests three sides were in conflict and equally responsible for the war, war victims, and destruction. This is evidenced by indictments against members of the Army of RBiH and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of RBiH, without first concluding cases from the Hague list, which should have been prioritized but were not. Through lies, they try to arrive at some truth that does not correspond to the actual situation.

We lie to ourselves that BiH is sovereign and territorially independent, that Dayton is a peace agreement and that there is a perspective for the future. That the political structure is committed to BiH, that neighboring countries have abandoned their war aims, and that international organizations and institutions are our friends. That we have an independent state and institutions – army, police, judiciary, and we are miles away from all of that.

They have been convincing us of all this for years. But, it is time to recognize the real situation – the truth of the world we live in and the environment-living conditions in BiH.

The war-aggression against BiH has never stopped, certain political parties are functioning to facilitate aggression and destruction of BiH, and these same parties, through state and entity institutions, are plundering the state of BiH for the benefit of neighboring countries and their own interests, and then, in alliance with foreign factors, they do not allow the organization of BiH on the principle of full sovereignty, territorial integrity, and its national security.

From a scientific perspective, it is therefore necessary to study Noam Chomsky and his work 'Media Control' in the spectacular achievement of propaganda. Because, currently in BiH, we undoubtedly have an environment of action based on egoism, fickleness, and cynicism, as opposed to the essential values we should cherish, such as patriotism, loyalty, honesty, self-awareness, and realism.

And what are we doing? We are agreeing to these dangerous games in which, with 'our truth', we help propaganda that discourages us in our desire for resistance and self-awareness, and imposes obedience and tolerance of dictation!

But, we must know that the path of truth is the only way out and solution from this crisis, and in this, only the judgments of international courts from The Hague and Strasbourg can help us (the judgments are clear and have been made, some are still active as in the case of Kovačević). Trust in the domestic judiciary must be restored, which must be completely depoliticized, which implies staffing with competent personnel and which must act in accordance with laws and justice. Unfortunately, we see that there is less and less law, and then justice disappears.

Non-governmental organizations must also be brought into special focus, and their work should be conceived on a patriotic basis, not a mercenary one. It is unacceptable for the ruling structures to welcome and host right-wing foundations such as the German Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (HSS), which is controversial to all liberals in the world, except for these – Sarajevan ones.

And that is why, at this moment, it is most important not to confuse truth and lies, to which we are prone due to various circumstances, so we consider true what suits interest groups that bring such a perspective through various methods, while truth is simply stating what is.

Because, it doesn't matter how sincerely someone believes that the wrong key will open the door; the key will still not fit and will not open the lock, just as democracy and the rule of human rights, the rule of law, as well as the national security of this country and its citizens, will not come to life without factually established matters in BiH, until we consider the fact that much can contain truth, but only one thing can truly be the Truth. Truth must come from somewhere – ours should be drawn from the judgments of the Court in The Hague and the Court in Strasbourg.

Everything else is manipulation of facts that leads us to lies.

The truth we know and which has been certified by world courts arose from the intention of darkened minds for us to disappear. And therefore, defending that truth is our opportunity to save future generations from lies, myths, and crimes.

Truth that is not spoken in time is worse than a lie.

Truth is often under attack today, and those who try to protect the truth are regularly put on the pillory. Lies, on the other hand, continuously have helpers, and they are almost always prominent members of society. We must not be weapons in the hands of the powerful.

Most intellectuals, unfortunately, have made themselves available to certain political options that work against the state, and their engagement in the interest of the state is negligible. They use all their (intellectual) capacity to the detriment of the state, so what can be expected from them. I am committed to the minority for whom truth is closer than lies, as well as a patriotic stance in the fight for the state.

And that is why BiH society is stagnating, condemned to defend itself from lies, and unable to prove proven truth.

Finally, I warn and call on intellectuals to consider how future generations will remember and mention them. I am sure that the word 'traitor' is not acceptable to anyone!!!

*The text is part of Prof. Alispahić's presentation at the Conference "March 1st – Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Challenges and Perspectives" held at the Faculty of Criminal Justice, Criminology and Security Studies of the University of Sarajevo