Radončić: We don't have to pretend brotherhood and unity, but we must realize we are on the same boat

It would be political wisdom for Sarajevo to attract political dissidents, but the responsibility for this failure should not be sought only in Sarajevo, said SBB President Fahrudin Radončić in the show Telering on RTRS, answering the host's question about "how it came to pass that Sarajevo now does not want Dodik or Čović near, although it would be logical for Sarajevo to be the core from which the state should be built".

"It shouldn't be viewed that way. Mr. Dodik has given and still gives diagnoses that are difficult for us Bosniaks to accept. Dodik has a fierce vocabulary. And I think that vocabulary suits Izetbegović the most, because it creates inter-ethnic tensions from both sides," said Radončić, reminding that genocide happened in BiH, in which people were killed and expelled, and that it is illusory to expect someone to easily get over it.

"It is true that Sarajevo must change its policy, but attributing responsibility solely to Sarajevo would not be accurate. Dodik must abandon some very, very harsh statements, referendums, secession... Bosniaks cannot accept that. We cannot accept any idea of the secession of Republika Srpska. Republika Srpska is a constitutional category, and no one can threaten Republika Srpska in terms of its territorial or other dimension regulated by Dayton. And that is why I expect the tensions to disappear," said Radončić. He believes that 20 years after the war, the time has finally come for the citizens of BiH to turn to the economy and coexistence. Citizens do not need, he says, to pretend brotherhood and unity, but it is important that they realize that they are on the same boat.

"As a Bosniak, I must root for Republika Srpska to be as economically developed as possible, for people to work, for mothers to give birth to children... The same attitude should be from citizens of Republika Srpska towards the Federation. They must start rooting for prosperity in the Federation. Let's get this ship of ours moving at last... If we constantly argue, there will be no results," said Radončić. Answering questions about the conflict between him and SDA President Bakir Izetbegović, Radončić said that it is time for Bakir Izetbegović's policy to go into history. He said that as many as 98 percent of Bosniaks want Western standards, American standards, and believes that such a policy will win in the 2018 elections despite the election theft he expects.

"The resultant of the European thinking of Bosniaks is SBB, as well as SDP and DF and these new parties," said Radončić, reports the Patria agency.

Watch the full interview in the attachment: