A Staged Political Conflict

Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the grip of a new political conflict, full of grand words, various types of patriotic fervour, extremely sensitive elements and easily inflammable messages. The announcement by the Party of Democratic Action that it will initiate legal proceedings before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to review the constitutionality of the name of the Republika Srpska has opened a new front with seemingly very high stakes. However, already on the first day after the announcement, the reactions of legal experts  show numerous cracks in this initiative, to the extent that a dilemma arises – did the initiators consult with lawyers at all, as well as experienced politicians, and were they aware of the possible consequences?

No matter how one looks at this conflict, the question arises – what benefits did the SDA expect from this initiative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and its pro-Bosnian component? No one  has offered an answer. Can the Party of Democratic Action, in this ... tactical manoeuvring or whatever we call this move, secure some political concessions along the lines of Izetbegović's statement that the SDA is ready to abandon this appeal or the change of the name of the Republika Srpska if the SNSD, as he says, changes its behaviour. It cannot,  because Milorad Dodik knows very well that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has no jurisdiction to – as constitutional law experts claim  –  assess the constitutionality of constitutional norms. That initiative would mean that the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina would practically assess the constitutionality of constitutional norms, i.e., the Constitution itself. Dodik also knows well that no political party is authorised to submit any initiative of that type. However, Dodik can and will (and has already done so)  turn this conflict into a political epic once again, gathering, or rather homogenising, political forces in the Republika Srpska, who are eagerly awaiting such an opportunity, and thus present himself once more as some kind of saviour of the Republika Srpska and a political strongman, who will one day be able to lead it into secession. Moreover, the joint statement of the parties  after the meeting in Banja Luka, stating that the entity's parliament will, in the event of an appeal being filed, decide on the further status of the Republika Srpska, has realistic prospects of being presented in various circumstances as a great victory over political Sarajevo. No one in that entity will ask themselves what Dodik will defend the Republika Srpska from and whether there truly are credible attacks on that entity and its constitutional position.

There is another very painful dilemma for the leaders of the SDA, which this initiative has brought directly to the surface. The very fact that the High Representative, and after months of deep illegality, assessed this move as irresponsible and counterproductive, further undermining trust among the peoples, represents a major defeat.  In earlier times, during the presidency of Alija Izetbegović, regardless of how one judges his work, Bosnia and Herzegovina enjoyed undivided political support from the international community and diplomatic circles.  Real and responsible politicians would ask themselves – why and where did that post-war international support for pro-Bosnian political circles disappear, and who destroyed it to its foundations and through what actions? Before resorting to that absurd argument about a deliberate anti-Bosniak or anti-Muslim campaign, perhaps they should seek rational answers.

This whole story  irresistibly reminds one of that famous alleged initiative to renew Bosnia and Herzegovina's genocide lawsuit against Serbia before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. We will recall that back then, political circles led by Bakir Izetbegović, in the same way and with the same patriotic fervour, called on the public to support the renewal of the lawsuit, only to find out later, after that famous grotesque gathering of Bosniak political, religious and intellectual authorities in the Sarajevo City Hall, that the creators of the initiative were fully aware, even clearly informed by the Court in The Hague, that Bosnia and Herzegovina had no legal representative before that judicial instance and could not procedurally renew the lawsuit against Serbia. It was, without a doubt, a conscious and brutal, reckless deception, primarily of the families of the victims, with a completely incomprehensible political goal. In the end, it turned out that the political circles, who consciously embarked on the deception, actually only wanted to score some cheap daily political points and present themselves once again as uncompromising fighters for justice, the victims and their families, not caring how much it would cost those very people.  The result was devastating – Bosnia and Herzegovina received yet another legal-political slap in the face, the victims experienced yet another great disappointment, and those who champion the work of the creators and perpetrators of the genocide definitively gained space to do whatever they want in their inhuman mission, without responsibility and sanctions. The creators and advocates of the renewal of the lawsuit, who embarked on that endeavour  knowing it was doomed to failure from the start, would in any responsible society have been politically dead forever on the same day, and that by the very people whose interests they allegedly fought for. However, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by the next day  everything was back to business as usual, as if nothing had happened, and no one called anyone to account for that brutal trifling with the victims and the political and legal reputation of the country.

People of science, who have seen, read and learned much studying political processes throughout history, cannot find similar examples and answer the simple question – why would anyone even have the motive to consciously embark on an extremely risky process, fuelling the most delicate and sensitive feelings of people,  if they know it is lost in advance and from the very beginning? There is only one reasonable answer – if they are participating in a staged, orchestrated, pre-arranged conflict with hidden motives and goals. There is no doubt that we are witnessing yet another hardly understandable political manoeuvre with extremely serious political, legal and above all moral consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina and all its patriots.