Everything started in Mostar in '91, a quarter-century later, the fate of BiH will be decided there again

Everything started in Mostar, and everything will end in Mostar, as things stand now, when it comes to the fate of BiH.

The city on the Neretva was extremely important for the future and defense of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (then still part of the rump Yugoslavia), both on September 19, 1991, when the first "messengers of war" arrived in Mostar, Serbian and Montenegrin reservists of the JNA, and today, writes the Patria News Agency. 

Twenty-five years ago, allegedly to secure the airport, more than 5,000 reservists, members of the Titograd and Užice corps of the aggressor JNA, arrived in Mostar and Herzegovina. Shortly thereafter, they occupied positions on the hills around Mostar and the airport, preparing for the siege of the city that would begin in the spring of 1992.

Today, a quarter of a century later, Mostar is once again the city where the question of the fate of the survival of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is being decided. Mostar is the city that Čović wants to be the "Croatian capital city" (as he already perceives it), while Izetbegović wants it to be unified and indivisible, where no nation will be marginalized.

There is no agreement between Bakir Izetbegović and Dragan Čović, or rather between the policies of HDZ and SDA. Their views on how the legislative power and the mayor should be elected, and especially how the status of the City should be regulated, differ.

On July 21, US Ambassador Maureen Cormack, in her capacity as a mediator, tried to kindly persuade the leaders of HDZ and SDA, and their coalition partner SBB Fahrudin Radončić, that they must find a common solution for Mostar, as it is an European precedent that elections have not been held in a local community for eight years.

The three-hour conversation in the Sarajevo residence ended without an agreement.

Then, on August 2, Ambassador Cormack and her British colleague Edward Ferguson went on the offensive, directly pointing fingers at the culprits for the unresolved fate of the city on the Neretva - HDZ BiH and SDA are to blame for the chaos.

– HDZ BiH and SDA are most responsible for the chaos in which Mostar currently finds itself. The primary responsibility for finding a solution lies with HDZ BiH and SDA. As you know well, President Čović says he remains committed and is optimistic about reaching a solution. But during the recent negotiations, we saw how he constantly rejected all efforts to reach a compromise.

President Izetbegović says he is pessimistic; he cannot overcome the political obstacles at the local level. But they are the leaders of their parties, and it is their job to lead those parties.

The city that should be a source of pride for all citizens of this country is actually causing enormous damage to the reputation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a modern, democratic state. The citizens of Mostar did not vote in the 2012 elections, and they are seriously threatened with the same scenario this year. Mostar has not had a functional City Council for years, and this is evident in the neglected public spaces, buildings that still show war damage, companies that are struggling to operate, and the lack of investment, warned the influential ambassadorial duo.

Everyone took these messages seriously, except Čović, and also SDA.

Two days later (August 4), he said that the deadline for an agreement on elections in Mostar had passed and that all deadlines had been missed.

– I fear we have wasted time. Our last attempt to meet was supposed to be yesterday or the day before yesterday, so if we agree, we would ask the BiH Parliament for a special session on Mostar. Due to the events over the weekend, everything fell apart – stated Čović.

He said that the agreement between HDZ and SDA on Mostar was almost finalized.

– Then, there is always some new addition, and everything goes back to the beginning. I have a feeling that someone wants the elections in Mostar not to happen on October 2, said Čović.

Who is that someone? Izetbegović provided the answer in his latest statement a few days ago.

And by naming the culprit, he finally confirmed that Bosniaks have continuously made concessions to the Croatian side in the city on the Neretva in recent years (giving them every position they asked for with open hands), which ultimately resulted in Čović's stance that the issue of Mostar is resolved for him and that it is the "Croatian capital city".

Besides the fact that the mayor of Mostar has been a Croat since 2004, even though according to the inter-party agreement signed that year, the first person in the last held elections in 2008 should have been a Bosniak, SDA handed over the entire judiciary and police structures in HNK to HDZ BiH. Izetbegović did not mention this dangerous political (im)prudence in his interview when talking about Mostar.

 

– We would have resolved this crisis if HDZ's stance had been a bit softer. You simply need to analyze the position of Bosniaks and Croats ten years ago in relation to Mostar and see how many concessions the Bosniak side was able to make, how many steps they took towards some middle ground solution.

And they have long passed that middle ground and are moving towards what the Croats are asking for. So, I think Čović could do more to soften that stance because, among other things, there were proposals that, along with defining the Statute of Mostar, which would accommodate some Bosniak positions, they would try to convince the Bosniak side, with the help of foreigners, friends, to accept the principle of one man, one vote.

That was HDZ's proposal five years ago. HDZ, it seems, even such a thing is unacceptable at this moment. Therefore, they unequivocally seek a dominance, in fact, a guarantee of the dominant position of Croats in Mostar – states Izetbegović.

He points out that in Mostar, there are about 47 percent Croats, between 43 and 44 percent Bosniaks, where these two nations are almost balanced, and that the position of Serbs must not be forgotten either.

– You must have some rotations, some balances, some power-sharing, some double signatures if you want one of these two nations, and it could be Bosniaks tomorrow, not to rule over the other. I expect a more flexible approach from Dragan Čović and HDZ in this regard – said Izetbegović.

Now, 12 years after HDZ BiH and SDA signed the agreement, which among other things mentions rotations and balances, and power sharing, the SDA president has spoken publicly about it for the first time.

Throughout the Mostar crisis, which has lasted for eight years, both parties have been deceiving the public that they are on the verge of solving the problem. The blame is being passed back and forth between the political courtyards. Not even the pressure from friends, foreign diplomats, has helped Izetbegović and Čović finally resolve this issue on which the fate of the entire country depends.

The ruling elites of Mostar (local, of course) will maintain this situation as long as it suits them. This benefits the party leaders and headquarters, and they occasionally shift the responsibility for the lack of agreement to them.

Izetbegović did admit for the first time a few days ago that Bosniaks have constantly made concessions to Croats (read: SDA to HDZ), but it remains unclear why this was done.

In 2004, SDA easily gave up Mostar, even though from then until 2012, they had enough votes in the City Council to elect the mayor, as well as to vote for the implementation of the agreement signed 12 years ago.

HDZ has maximally utilized everything that was signed, and even more. For example, when a Bosniak was supposed to be elected mayor in 2008, SDA councilors voted for Ljubo Bešlić, who is still in that position today.

This was not someone's will or desire, but an obligation from the 2004 agreement, which established the principle of rotation. For eight years, Bešlić has been the absolute ruler of the city on the Neretva, in other words, Čović reigns in the "Croatian capital city".

Representatives of opposition parties SDP BiH, DF, HDZ 1990, SBiH, NS-Mostar held a public forum last week titled "Mostar - A City Without Elections". They stated that elections must be held - either the High Representative will use his powers to impose a decision on holding elections, or the BiH Parliament will urgently amend the Election Law of BiH, which would allow Mostar residents to vote after eight years. As a last option, they mentioned citizens taking to the streets.

The Mostar crisis continues. Everything started in Mostar a quarter of a century ago, and when and how it will end now is unknown. The political positions of the ruling parties SDA and HDZ, who are holding this city and its citizens hostage, are entrenched.

Mostar has been "surrounded" just like by the Serbian-Montenegrin reservists in September 1991. Mostar and its people managed to defend themselves then. Sovereign and indivisible BiH was also defended and preserved.

The year is 2016. The fate of the city on the Neretva and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, around which neighbors Croatia and Serbia are rattling their weapons, and in the smaller BiH entity, a referendum is being prepared that could very easily lead this country into anarchy, is uncertain.

We are entering a turbulent period in which it is difficult to predict the final outcome. It started in Mostar, and it will end in Mostar.