Ramiz's lettuce for sustainable return

By Ernad Metaj

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"They say you need to be careful about what you eat, and corona is around us. Homemade and organic is the best, that's what they say.". This is a post on the official FB page of RS Vice President Ramiz Salkić, accompanied by pictures of beautiful and fresh lettuce from a large and well-maintained greenhouse.

Alhamdulillah, wonderful, as someone commented.

Much would be different with the return of Bosniaks to RS if we could see similar pictures on the profiles of ordinary people who bravely stepped into the implementation of Annex VII of the Dayton Peace Agreement and repented. Without intending to link Salkić's greenhouse to that, many profited from their suffering, because the story of sustainable return, with justified pointing out the discrimination by the RS authorities, has largely turned into reselling donations that were secured from international funds, as well as the budget of FBiH.

One of the politicians who has been an important factor in the return process for over a decade is precisely Ramiz Salkić. He has cashed in well on his struggle by participating in the RS authorities he "hates". The lettuce on his profile is an unusual refreshment among numerous posts about concern for returnees due to the discrimination by the very same authorities. If there were more such pictures from the farms of people living the return, discrimination would not disappear, but space would open up for some other, more positive topics. For example, where and how to market products and ensure the livelihood of these people when their employment in entity institutions cannot be secured.

Undeniably, the right to language is extremely important, crucial, only the essence of return starts from its sustainability. Homemade organic is the best!

26 years after the end of the war, at the end of last year, Salkić, along with the Minister of Displaced Persons and Refugees, Edin Ramić, advocated for increased allocations for sustainable return from the FBiH budget. At that time, it was stated that the existing funds in the Ministry of Displaced Persons and Refugees were not sufficient to meet all the demands of the returnees. Doesn't it sound absurd when information from the field increasingly speaks of the mass departure of even the most persistent returnees? For them, there weren't enough greenhouses, especially the large ones; they were sold machines and livestock from donations received by "party returnees" who, following the example of their patrons in RS, mostly stayed on weekends. A joke circulates about donations of cows given to people without a square meter of agricultural land, who said they would keep the donated livestock in the freezer. Maybe it's not organic, but it's good.

It would be honest if all the Salkićs did an analysis for us and detailed where surely more than a billion marks were spent and explained how it was not enough for sustainable return. If it cannot be admitted that there was theft, it is human to at least say that it was not known. No one prevented the FBiH authorities from supporting the development of production in returnee communities and stimulating the employment of returnees. No one prevented the authorities from truly developing organic production in RS and ensuring its placement in numerous public institutions. It would be nice if federal and state parliamentarians ate something organic in their cheap restaurant. It would also be good for children in public kindergartens. It could have been done, but it wasn't... and homemade organic, they say, is the best.

Salkić is angry and points his finger at the RS authorities, claiming they are violating the entity constitution in Foča, Bratunac, Vlasenica, and other towns because there are no more Bosniaks in power there. What he won't tell you is that their coalition partners are doing it, without whom the increasingly rare SDA councilors in RS actually don't want to be in power. This is the case in Višegrad, where a Bosniak was elected president of the Municipal Assembly, but from the People and Justice party. The SDA councilor will not join the coalition with him because SNSD is in opposition there. SDA councilors also boycotted the assembly session in Novo Goražde. They don't want to be in the majority without SNSD, the very same one that Salkić tirelessly accuses of discriminating against Bosniaks. I don't know, maybe Salkić grows something else in his greenhouse besides lettuce.....