Symbols of Bosnia and Herzegovina, besides in our hearts, should be displayed in our homes and offices

By: Dr. sc. Enver Išerić

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The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates "Bosnia and Herzegovina shall have symbols determined by a decision of the Parliamentary Assembly and confirmed by the Presidency". The Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Law on the Coat of Arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Law on the Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina. By adopting these laws, the symbols of our country were established. And what are symbols? Symbols are signs or marks that denote or remind of a concept. There are symbols that denote happiness, love, hatred, etc. There are also religious symbols, such as the crescent moon and star, the cross, the Star of David, etc. And usually, most people treat these symbols with love and respect, both towards the symbols of their faith and towards the symbols of other religious communities. And no one is willing to accept the fact that someone treats their religious symbol in a way that desecrates it or belittles it in any way. Why is that? Well, simply because by our attitude towards symbols, we express our attitude towards the faith they symbolize, but also towards the members of that faith.

Certain symbols also represent love, e.g., the heart is a human organ, but it also symbolizes love. We will not delve into this issue in detail, but let's ask ourselves and others a very simple, yet very important question: What about the symbols of our country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and what is our attitude towards them? The answer to this question is that in most official premises of state and entity bodies, there are no state symbols (coat of arms and flag). The situation is particularly specific in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because since 2006, when the Constitutional Court of BiH determined that the coat of arms and flag of the Federation, and the coat of arms and anthem of Republika Srpska, are not in accordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Federation has no symbols of its own. The parliaments of both entities were ordered to harmonize the aforementioned provisions with the state Constitution within six months.
And so, from the distant year of 2006 until today, most administrative bodies and institutions in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have no symbols in their premises. This particularly applies to federal bodies and institutions, because cantonal and municipal bodies, if nothing else, have their own symbols, and the coat of arms and flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina are used in those bodies where love for the homeland and respect for its symbols are significantly expressed.

The Law on the Coat of Arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not (unfortunately) prescribe the obligation to display the coat of arms on buildings where entity, cantonal, city, and municipal bodies within Bosnia and Herzegovina have their headquarters, as well as in the ceremonial rooms of these buildings, but its use is permitted. Therefore, it is necessary for the heads of bodies at all levels of government to procure and ensure the display of the coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina in all work premises of all entity, cantonal, city, and municipal bodies, institutions, and companies. This is necessary to express our love for our homeland, but also as a constant reminder that we are working in the name of our country, respecting its Constitution and laws. It would also be highly desirable for municipalities, in cooperation with other levels of government, to ensure that every household has a flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which would be displayed during the holidays of our homeland.

If anyone has any doubts about the above, they should just recall the recent events surrounding the display of the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entity flag in the building of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they will be able to conclude that the symbols of the state have extremely great importance.

Regarding the use and display of state symbols and our attitude towards them, we can learn a lot from the great and developed countries of the world and from the attitude of their citizens towards state symbols.
Let the display of state symbols in our work premises be the first step in our new attitude towards them and an expression of love for our homeland, but also a strengthening of constitutional patriotism, which means that our political commitment should be based on the norms and procedures of our society built on common political values such as democracy and freedom of thought.