What English Lords Need to Know About BiH Politicians: Burdened by Indictments and Russian Interests

By Armin Aljović

A delegation of the International Relations Committee of the House of Lords of the British Parliament is visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Speaker of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Bariša Čolak, said after the meeting that the British Lords were most interested in how politicians see the future of BiH with a special focus on the EU.

"We presented our views, and it is no secret that they are already somewhat familiar with the situation in BiH. I openly said that we do not have a common stance on our common future. There are three policies, but we are aware that without our internal agreement, it is very difficult to improve things," Čolak said. 

“Today I emphasized that it is very important for us to change the Election Law of BiH and to welcome the next year in a relaxed manner, rather than bringing the entire country into the position of the City of Mostar,” Čolak concluded. 

Čolak's answer is expected and direct. It has been clear for some time that policies and politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina have different views on the country's future. It is more important to reveal the truth about the reasons for different views on the country's future and what the ruling political elites want to achieve by creating Bosnia and Herzegovina according to the models they advocate.

After the meeting with the Lords, Čolak confirmed that HDZ BiH uses every opportunity to lobby for amendments to the Election Law of BiH, without choosing the time or place for it. Amendments to the Election Law of BiH are the strategic and biggest goal of HDZ. For this, they have engaged partners from Zagreb, and they are also seeking support in the EU. The President of HDZ BiH, Dragan Čović, also recently lobbied for amendments to the Election Law of BiH at the session of the United Nations General Assembly, which analysts assessed as a catastrophic move by the leader of HDZ. The entire country has been blocked for several months precisely because HDZ is blackmailing coalition partners with amendments to the Election Law.

Why are amendments to the Election Law important for HDZ BiH?

The entire leadership of HDZ BiH is burdened by the most serious accusations, which should have been the subject of investigations long ago. Amendments to the Election Law of BiH according to this party's model increase their chances of remaining in power and having additional four years of influence over the judiciary.

Dragan Čović was unappealably sentenced to five years in prison in 2006 by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for abusing his position as Minister of Finance of the FBiH and allowing the Lijanović brothers to avoid paying customs duties amounting to several tens of millions of KM. This case was never concluded because the original documentation from this case disappeared, and no one was held accountable.

The EU recently awarded a prize to a CIN journalist for uncovering multi-million dollar assets of Dragan Čović and his family members, for which there is no convincing evidence of how they were acquired. 

Čović's security advisor, Dario Krezić, was accused of the serious criminal offense of kidnapping. 

Other high-ranking HDZ officials are also burdened by serious accusations, some of them in the "Pandora" affair. 
Žurnal recently wrote about the role of Čović and HDZ in introducing Russian capital into Aluminij Mostar, which was attempted to be covered up by diverting attention with a fabricated affair of alleged eavesdropping by OSA on Croatian officials and businessmen.

The HDZ model of amending the Election Law means that the Croatian member of the BiH Presidency would be elected by Croats from the three cantons where they are the majority, namely West Herzegovina Canton, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, and Canton 10, i.e., where the HDZ party machinery is strong, while the votes of Croats from Bosnia, or those parts where Croats are not the majority, would not be able to influence the election of the BiH Presidency member. Although discriminatory towards more than 200,000 compatriots from Bosnia, HDZ BiH does not give up on its proposal. 

Also, HDZ BiH wants only Croatian delegates to sit in the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, who would be elected from cantons with a majority Croatian population, while Croats from cantons where they are a minority would not have their representatives in the House of Peoples of the Federal Parliament. Such a model also means an additional anti-European division of Bosnia and Herzegovina along ethnic lines.

HDZ BiH is the leading political party among BiH Croats, with strong party engineering, but their influence can be seriously shaken. The largest opposition party to HDZ, HDZ 1990, announces the establishment of a new HNS and strong opposition to Čović's policy. There is also the newly founded Croatian Party of BiH, which offers BiH Croats a new concept of action in BiH. If HDZ loses power, it will not only mean the loss of hundreds of millions of KM of state money for them, but also prosecution for serious crimes. That is why they need amendments to the Election Law, which should ensure victory in the General Elections in 2018.

By winning the third electoral unit, HDZ counts on using it as an alibi for the departure of young people from the country, as well as for the multi-million dollar plundering of its own citizens.

The pragmatic leader of SNSD, Milorad Dodik, benefits from Čović's policy. With similar nationalist rhetoric, he tries to divert attention from the economic collapse in this BiH entity, as well as from accusations of the most serious corruption scandals. 

The largest Bosniak party, SDA, is facing internal turmoil. Some people from the very top of the party are under heavy accusations of abuse of office, bribery, illegal employment, and other criminal acts. Analysts assess that SDA has been preoccupied with positioning its own cadres all along, rather than strengthening state institutions, which has ultimately led to the collapse of the entire party and seriously endangered the functioning of the state. 

The ruling political parties in BiH have two policies: one rhetorical, in which they talk about the European future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, gaining voter sympathy and international community support, and the other, practical policy, by which they block the country's European path in every way. BiH's entry into the European Union also means the rule of law according to the highest standards. It is entirely expected that those who are under serious indictments do not want to introduce the rule of law into the country. Such a policy is most evident with HDZ BiH and Dragan Čović.

Analysts assess that the only salvation for the country is if the left-wing parties unite around a common platform and offer a serious program that will gain the trust of citizens. Public opinion polls show that 50 percent of citizens in BiH have stated that they will not participate in the 2018 elections. The other half of the citizens, those who say they will vote, are mostly supporters of one of the ruling parties. Doctor of Political Science Slaven Kovačević recently stated that BiH cannot endure another four years of nationalist parties in power. Other analysts warn that the left must do everything to convince the 50 percent of undecided voters to go to the polls, but also to offer serious economic programs so that citizens, when they do go, give their vote to them and not to retrograde policies.