We Are All Different, We Are All Equal

(Patria) - There is no way out of the current political crisis, which tends to escalate into a security crisis, until the postulates of the political system of Bosnia and Herzegovina are changed, says former diplomat and professor Enver Halilović in an interview for Patria.

Halilović points out that Bosnia and Herzegovina today functions on an ethnic principle, which has proven to be extremely dysfunctional.

The Dayton system produces only conflicts and disagreements

- We had that case with the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), and yesterday this with the Armed Forces of BiH. All of this shows that the political relations prevailing in the Parliament of BiH are transferred to the institutions and other bodies of authority in BiH.

Politics actually directly reflects on their work. But this is not a specificity of BiH. In every country, it happens that politics, in one way or another, to a greater or lesser extent, influences the work of bodies and institutions of authority.

Therefore, without a change in the paradigm of the Dayton Constitution, there is no possibility of reaching a real solution for the organization of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a prosperous and peaceful state that, in its political content, presupposes and produces solidarity among people - says Halilović.

He emphasizes that the current political system of BiH, i.e., the Dayton system, produces only conflicts and disagreements. And not only in the sphere of politics, but also in society as such.

- The prerequisite for a permanent exit from this situation is reaching basic civic postulates, as states are organized throughout the world, as normal, prosperous and functional, with solidarity and cooperation among citizens, and not conflict among residents - points out Halilović.

According to him, the first such postulate for Bosnia and Herzegovina is - a state of equal opportunities for all its citizens.

- At this moment, we do not have a state of equals, but a prescribed state of different and unequal opportunities. That is, a state of discrimination against citizens on various grounds, both individual and collective rights.

It is necessary to eliminate the legal and political inequality of citizens from the Constitution and laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina, considering their social, cultural, religious and other inequalities - says Halilović.

The second principle, our interlocutor continues, should and could be a legal state, not a state of legalized injustice.

- At this moment, we do not have a legal state, but a state of legalized injustice. The Dayton Constitution is one of the concrete examples of legalized injustice. And that injustice legalized by the Constitution has been proven in courts, not only at the Constitutional Court of BiH, but also at the European Court of Human Rights - says Halilović.

He points out that the rule of law means practicing just, not unjust or discriminatory law.

- A legal state cannot be built on discriminatory law. The rule of law means the obligation of every individual or institution to apply the principles of equality and equal rights of all citizens in their actions.

This prevents all those processes that we have today in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Court of Human Rights has shown all this, and this current situation is precisely a consequence of the non-implementation of its judgments - states Halilović.

By doing so, he adds, the agony and instability in Bosnia and Herzegovina are only deliberately prolonged, both in the sphere of politics and in the sphere of economy, security...

- The perspective of a prosperous society and state is actually what is proclaimed in the well-known principle "All different, All equal" - we are all different, we are all equal. In every respect.

We are different as people, as beings, in everything. God did not create anything identical, there are no two identical people, two identical plants, two animals, nor anything two that is identical.

The holders of power and sovereignty must be citizens

Society differs from the animal form of existence in that it establishes mechanisms of equality within that diversity.

And the entire history of the world consists of establishing equality among people regardless of their diversity. That is the basic principle of civilization ever since man and history have existed - specifies Halilović.

The third rule, he continues, could be that Bosnia and Herzegovina is primarily a civic state, which also means that the holders of power and sovereignty are - citizens.

- If you have the constitution of bodies of authority and institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina on an ethnic principle, then you always have this situation that we have today. It can be a little subdued, a little milder, but it always has the potential to escalate into this state in which we find ourselves today.

The solution here is not only in arrests. Of course, arresting those who have violated legal norms must be something that is primary, a priority. But that, unfortunately, cannot be implemented, because we do not have a legal state. And because it was not even designed to function as a legal state - warns Halilović.

He also claims that Bosnia and Herzegovina can definitely function as a state of Bosnians and Herzegovinians - as a nation-state, i.e., a state-nation in which all people are its citizens and constitute the civic nation of BiH.

- So, it is a political, not an ethnic nation. It is a state nation or nation = state, state = nation in a political sense, but not state = nation in the sense of state institutions, i.e., in an organizational - administrative sense.

A state in an administrative sense is one thing, and in a political sense something completely different. Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state of Bosnians and Herzegovinians is actually a state of political unity of all its citizens, regardless of their religion, what language they speak, how big, tall, heavy they are, what language they speak, what education they have... - states Halilović.

He adds that without these basic postulates on which the entire modern and democratic world functions today, there is no way out of the crisis in which Bosnia and Herzegovina finds itself today.

Given that it is well known that there is no amendment to the Constitution of BiH without a two-thirds majority in the Parliament of BiH, we asked Halilović how to reach such an agreement.

- That is a political agreement of the parliament. Both houses need to work together and reach common solutions about which I spoke. There is no other way.

Either we will all, going down this path we are on, suffer this state that oppresses us and ourselves produce further problems into which we will fall, or I don't know what a third option could be. This is something that everyone should become aware of, especially the political elites in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I think that awareness has finally matured to understand that this current state of affairs can no longer function and that a new state must be established through agreement. So, not in the sense of outvoting, overriding, but establishing a normal state.

Here, indicators of such a possibility are, for example, opposition political parties in the RS. This shows that there are possibilities for BiH as a common state of all people, its citizens, regardless of what they are called, which God they pray to, etc.

These are some elementary things. Well, everywhere in the world there are mixed cultural and religious environments. There is not a single point that can be said to be pure in any sense. Insisting on differences is actually producing differences. And there is no solution without more serious changes - concluded Halilović in an interview for Patria.

(D.K.)