Letter from true members: A few technocrats are enriching themselves at the expense of SDP, social democracy is dying and we need change

(Patria) - The Patria News Agency received an open letter signed by true members of the Social Democratic Party of BiH. In it, they analyze the situation in the SDP, the government led by this party, the upcoming elections, but also call for a much-needed change of party leadership and a return to the idea of social justice and equality. We are publishing the members' letter in full.

"The Statute of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in its introductory part, Article 4, exhaustively lists the basic goals and tasks of the party. And indeed, when you read this article, especially aloud, it sounds so nice. So melodious, it melts you. It mentions the achievement of social equality, the protection of workers' rights and all those who live by their work, the building of BiH as a social and legal state, then guaranteed rights to health and social security and protection, strengthening the healthcare system, protecting patients' rights, establishing a system of governance with equal opportunities for individuals to live a life worthy of a human being. It all sounds good, those who don't believe can find this document online and check.

However, when you read this article and think about the current political situation that this party
is currently actively creating in BiH, about how the current selected leadership of this party
holds and participates in power, what kind of personnel solutions this party has and who has been appointed and is trying to be appointed to director positions, you see the red carpet of SFF and the parades of renowned cantonal ministers, the distribution of baklava, ćevapi, and the renovation of selected Sarajevo facades, the agreement in July for New Year's performances for a paltry 800,000 KM,
the purchase of official vehicles with full equipment while the country is literally burning from summer fires, and our firefighters are heroically fighting to extinguish them with whatever equipment they have, at the very least, you start to wonder if we are watching Monty Python's Flying Circus and if we are really living this?

Or to go further, the appointment of Abel Baltić as director of JUDZKS, who managed that institution so "expertly" that his work report for 2022 was not adopted, employees are dissatisfied with his management, his work is burdened by numerous reports and investigations, suspicious tenders, hirings, forged diplomas. And the SDP president rewards such a prominent party member by making him the president of the Municipal Board of Novi Grad Sarajevo, the strongest municipal organization of the SDP in BiH, and then, of course, since he appointed him president, he should also be the list leader for the upcoming local elections. And of course, Abel is the list leader. The president really did a man's job here and offered the citizens of this municipality the "highest quality" man from his ranks.

Let's also mention culture here. When Winston Churchill was advised to reduce expenditures on culture and redirect those funds to the production of rifles, cannons, and ammunition because England was on the eve of World War II, he angrily asked, what would we be fighting for if not for culture and art?!

Here, in peacetime, employees of one of the most important cultural institutions in the country have to take to the streets because they are hungry, and then the federal prime minister Nermin Nikšić and the federal minister of education and culture Jasna Duraković appear as saviors and promise to solve this problem of financing this institution. And they don't forget to blame the previous government for this situation in this cultural institution. The fact that they should prevent such unfortunate situations from happening at all is less important to the prime minister and minister. And six other cultural institutions are in a not-so-enviable situation.

Let's also touch upon Sarajevo's roads and traffic jams. Just try to enter Sarajevo from the north in the morning, i.e., from the direction of Vogošća. It is equally a great adventure to leave the city in the afternoon in this direction, as well as driving through the city during the day. But what does the KS Minister of Transport, Adnan Šteta, care about that. He solves everything related to traffic with a tram. More bread and circuses for the citizens of Sarajevo Canton, so this summer he brings (excuse me, drives) Formula 1 to make a lap around Vijećnica. Let the people see how Formula 1 is driven. The fact that you can't see the tram line contracts is less important. The important thing is to drive around.

Social democracy in BiH is dying. The SDP is a party that has been taken over by a few technocrats who have no concept of social issues. They demonstrate this every day. And now, the final blow is at hand for a handful of well-positioned technocrats, not social democrats at all, to take over the party forever and kill the last hope for a better tomorrow for the true members of this party, as well as for those citizens who believe in this idea and regularly vote for the SDP.

True social democrats, members and sympathizers of the SDP BiH, unfortunately, need to think carefully whether they will give their vote to their SDP in the upcoming elections. Such an SDP is certainly far from what honest members and sympathizers have fought for over the years.

Currently, the situation is such that the party bodies do not exist; instead, it is managed by a small group of technocrats, devoid of all ideological and statutory principles, who see the SDP BiH only as a means for personal enrichment. They do not respect the Statute. There are many examples, and one of the most obvious is the expulsion of dissenters, namely, six members of the OO Novi Grad Sarajevo, who were expelled by an unstatutory Decision by Abel Baltić, under the instructions of Damir Hadžić and his wife Alma Hadžić. The expelled members, according to the Statute, appealed this Decision to the competent body, which is called the Statutory Committee of the SDP BiH; however, the deadline for resolving appeals passed more than twenty days ago, and there has been no response from the Statutory Committee. No one wants to offend the current technocrats. So the question arises: has the Statute been suspended?

The picture of the SDP, currently led by technocrats, is sad, so it is clear that social democracy in BiH is dying with the SDP. The alarm has been sounded, and all honest members, sympathizers, and citizens need to get involved in saving the SDP BiH. The only salvation is to return the levers of party management within the framework of the Statute and take them out of the hands of the technocracy, which thinks in the manner: "after me, the flood".

The formula for saving the SDP BiH is a bad election result in October. Only in that case will the perverted work and bad decisions of the current technocrats not be legitimized as if they had done something good. Only a bad result can lead to intra-party elections so that the most capable and honest can be selected and the SDP can return to where it belongs. And that is to be the true and genuine locomotive that will pull all true, genuine pro-Bosnian parties to build our beautiful country BiH, to implement the true goals and principles listed in Article 4 of the SDP statute, which are social equality and the building of BiH as a social, legal, and secular state of equal opportunities for all good and honest Bosnians and Herzegovinians.

Therefore, members, sympathizers, and citizens, "think wisely". Do not support technocrats in the elections because you love the SDP and the idea of social democracy. They do not deserve it. They are not social democrats. They use the SDP for personal gain. Sometimes it is necessary to tear something down to build something better.

And one more thing for the end, Vojin Mijatović, technocrat, publicly state and express your position on the character and work of the late General Mehmed Alagić. Many things are being said in the bazaar, so to avoid rumors, tell us your position on this matter publicly, Vojin. Let the citizens know where they stand," the letter from SDP members states.