Open Letter to Izetbegović: Why Does SDA Justify the Appointment of Your Wife as Head of UKCS?

In an open letter to Bakir Izetbegović, the president of SDA, Fuad Šišić, chairman of the Tešanj Municipal Council and former mayor of this municipality, criticized him for the current state of the party and its attitude towards people, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

- I hope, and will continue to hope, that the culture of public dialogue in Bosnia and Herzegovina will find its way to a higher level. I hope that the need for anyone who wishes to express their opinion and stance to use a vocabulary of denial and belittlement of others will cease. Whether it is the first statement or a reaction to that statement. The circle of denial, belittlement, and contestation in communication among people harms themselves the most, and then the public.

I was a long-time party official in SDA and held important public positions. I made similar mistakes to those I now criticize. A person should, as they pass through time, reflect on that passage, be self-critical, and learn lessons from their own mistakes for the future. Organizations should do the same. There is no point in discussing mistakes when they happen, but it makes sense and is necessary to draw lessons from them. That is the only benefit that can be gained from mistakes and failures. That is why I am surprised that we in SDA have not learned this even after 25 years. For an organization – 25 years is not youth.

The latest statement from SDA BiH, or rather the reaction to the statement from SDP BiH, regarding personnel appointments at the Clinical Center Sarajevo is precisely proof that the organization has learned nothing. And it undoubtedly had someone to learn from. Especially SDA. On the wall of the SDA BiH room, where sessions of the BiH Presidency are held, there are also pictures of previous presidents, including the picture of President Alija Izetbegović. As a member of SDA, I would prefer that instead of that picture, there were messages that President Alija Izetbegović spoke and lived by. Messages that have real value, that can serve as a reminder to us all. I believe that then SDA BiH would not have reacted the way it did.

Namely, SDA BiH states that „SDP has no right to lecture anyone…“ and continues to explain why. Then, it cites the example of how the brother of the then Prime Minister Nikšić was appointed by the FBiH Government to the position of director of the Motorways. To be clear to everyone: this is the argument SDA uses to justify the appointment of the wife of a member of the BiH Presidency and the president of SDA BiH to the position of director of the Clinical Center. I was truly sad and somewhat angry when I read this. I ask myself: why do we need this? What are we thinking? What do we want? Why are we reducing our lives, in such a complex situation, to a bureaucratic office?

First, in a free society, we should not communicate with others by stating what someone else has the right to and what they do not.

Second, in a free society, we should not use the mistakes of others as an argument for our own mistakes. We should learn from the mistakes of others, just as we learn from our own mistakes.

Third, SDP convincingly lost the elections, probably also because of such things that SDA is now trying to justify with the same mistakes of SDP. I do not believe that SDA wants to lose the elections, and I hope it will not. But I sincerely hope that it will break free from a state of inertia, that it will introduce an innovative ethical approach in public communication, as well as in the appointment of public positions.

Of course, this is not about whether the wife of President Bakir Izetbegović is a competent and honest person; I believe she is. But that is not relevant to this situation. It is very simple: this situation is unnecessary.

In addition, Mr. President, I support you in your efforts to stabilize relations in BiH, to build synergy among pro-Bosnian forces and among Bosniaks, to move this BiH society towards the EU and global integrations, but I ask you not to support such mistakes along that path.