Silajdžić: BiH is a unitary state, it was never made of anything

(Patria) - Haris Silajdžić, former Prime Minister, member of the state Presidency, and head of Bosnian-Herzegovinian diplomacy, said in the show Pressing with Amira Zukić on N1 television that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a unitary state because it was not formed from republics or states and has always been one.

Silajdžić, commenting on the current crisis in BiH, said that we have been in more difficult situations, but we knew how to act better than now.

“We can when needed. Regardless of all the announcements, we must always be cautious, we know who we are dealing with, we know what has happened to us not only from 1990-1995 but for the past 150 years or more. We have relaxed, we have started to deal with personal interests, and it is not a time for relaxation. I thought it was mostly a done deal, that it was going as it was going until they started talking openly about secession, about creating other Armed Forces in BiH, two armies in one country, these are already dangerous things, and that is why I became media active, and I doubt I will be politically active,” Silajdžić emphasized.

He believes that the action of the international community should be invoked to resolve the situation in a way that the majority of BiH citizens want.

“And the majority of BiH citizens certainly want a European BiH, normal civic democracy like in all other countries around us and in Europe. The majority of citizens want our membership in NATO, and we are openly threatened by official representatives of the Russian Federation that there will be problems. But these are issues between great powers, but we must know that this is the case,” he added.

He points out that unfortunately there are indications that the great powers might reach a settlement with BiH as its victim.

“Because no one wants extra problems in Europe, America, and the whole world. There is bad news everywhere, and they certainly do not need tension or armed conflicts. This problem in the Balkans should be viewed as a coherent whole (BiH, Montenegro, Kosovo). It is under strategic pressure from Russia and due to the Greater Serbia ideologies of the ‘Serbian world’,” Silajdžić stated.

He is of the opinion that it is good that BiH is again in the focus of public attention from around the world because this will lead to a concentration on solutions.

“I see that the citizens of BiH are also protesting, but they have no voice. We have principles, Constitutional reforms. This Constitutional reform started very strangely, from the tail, not from the principles. When a constitution is made in any country, first it is decided what is desired with it, whether we want a monarchy here, democratic feudalism which we have now, or a democratic European country,” he stated.

He recently proposed holding an honest referendum with the approval of the international community.

“A referendum on whether the citizens of BiH want to join NATO? What kind of BiH do citizens want, democratic, undemocratic, what form, there are many questions, but the fundamental one is whether we want the civic principle here, that every citizen is completely equal. There are mechanisms to protect every citizen, every culture and religion through the Constitution,” Silajdžić said.

BiH is a unitary state, unlike the former Yugoslavia, Silajdžić states.

“Which was composed of republics, unlike the USA which is composed of states, and BiH was not made of anything and never was. In its very long history, it has always been one until these events between 1990-1995 when it was forcibly divided. It is a unitary state, everything else are complex states,” Silajdžić conveyed.

Silajdžić states that the “fascist revelry” in BiH did not attract attention at first, but later it did. However, today, as he says, a continuation of the same policy is being experienced because that fact is not in focus again.

“These negotiations are ending the war. It has been going on all along. These are fateful days for BiH, and I hope that all actors will be serious about this. We are now in an atmosphere of coercion, secession, intimidation, and the response of the international community is not adequate, and they are succumbing to that pressure. It has come to the division of the state and other levels of government. In doing so, they will focus on property and its management, including the property of SFR Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of BiH, public goods such as rivers, goods of general interest such as forests, agricultural land, precisely those that were the subject of resolution in the Constitutional Court of BiH,” Silajdžić emphasized.

He commented on the lobbying for the elections of domestic officials abroad while the biggest political crisis in BiH is ongoing.

“Well, either they are not aware or they don't care. So, we are in a serious situation now, this is the finale. What happens with these talks and teams will determine the future of BiH for 30, 40 or more years. Because if there is no mention of the judgments of the Hague Tribunal now, where almost the entire leadership of Republika Srpska was sentenced to long or life imprisonment. That court did its job, but today it is not mentioned so that problems in BiH can be discussed and it can be separated from the historical context because the state bothers them,” Silajdžić conveyed.