Instead of protecting BiH citizens, Inzko, politics and religious communities seek protection for themselves

Director of the International Institute for Middle Eastern and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) Ljubljana Dr. Zijad Bećirović in an interview for the Patria news agency answered questions related to the latest events shaking the Bosnian political scene.

PATRIA: Are we capable of facing lawsuits against political leaders, or rather the big fish?

BEĆIROVIĆ: Bosnia and Herzegovina is still an unstable country, threatened primarily by the great-state concepts of neighboring countries and the inert international policy of Western states, primarily the EU. In such an undefined state, everything is questionable, starting from the survival of the state, which is threatened daily, and then it can be expected that within the state system, equally daily challenges occur.

Since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, there have been permanent internal political and criminal events, a huge number of which have also faced judicial processing at the so-called highest levels of government, ranging from responsibility for war crimes to major criminal and financial affairs. So I see nothing new that has not already happened, is happening, or will happen in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

PATRIA: Until now, we accused Čović, and then he was acquitted. Džaferović was tried and then acquitted. Many leaders were tried, but there were no verdicts. Today we have the case of the destruction of two banks, Bobar Bank and Bank of Srpska. Do you expect that the Prosecutor's Office and the Court have now finally drawn a line and started doing their job properly?

BEĆIROVIĆ: As I stated, the overall crisis at the international level and at the highest state and political level in Bosnia and Herzegovina is reflected in all segments of society. You cannot expect such a situation not to be reflected in the investigative-prosecutorial-judicial bodies. There is no successful judiciary in the world that is not backed by a strong and stable state, i.e., the government of that state. That is an illusion.

As long as the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not stabilized, it is futile to expect a stable judicial system. Of course, here I mean that the state must ensure optimal conditions for the judiciary, starting from financial support to independence in work. In a state where special police rob international banks "in broad daylight," there are no independent investigations, nor an independent judiciary. Everything depends on politics, both domestic and international, given the position of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it is under international supervision. In a state that, some time ago, through political-intelligence acrobatics, relieved Milorad Dodik (SNSD) and Zlatko Lagumdžija (SDP) of responsibility, anything is possible.

PATRIA: The Prosecutor's Office claims that Bakir Dautbašić was arrested because he allegedly influenced a witness, asking him not to mention SBB leader Fahrudin Radončić in the case against Naser Keljmendi in Kosovo. Are the Prosecutor's Office and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina now trying, by expanding the investigation to include Radončić and others, to perhaps regain the credibility they have obviously lost in recent years?

BEĆIROVIĆ: It is difficult to talk about specific cases and alleged credibility precisely because of the uncertain political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the inertia of the international community, especially after Russia's public interference in events in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. In my previous answers, I just stated the fact that such situations are not new in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that there have been processes before that attracted the attention of the domestic and international public. Let everyone do their job. The Prosecutor's Office and the Court do their job, and politics does its own. As far as I understand, everyone has an interest in the current cases being concluded in a professional and lawful manner.

PATRIA: Finally, the key question: can the leaders, primarily Izetbegović, Radončić, Čović, and Dodik, after the judiciary's attempt to work, destabilize the state to save their own skin?

BEĆIROVIĆ: You cannot destabilize something that is already largely destabilized. You see that even High Representative Valentin Inzko (OHR) is "saving his own skin," calling on investigative bodies to do their job, regarding the death threats he allegedly received from the Republika Srpska.

Inzko's example is precisely the best indicator of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The international community has come to a position where its highest representatives are threatened with death. It all reminds me of the war period when Mladić's and Karadžić's phalanges arrested and tied members of the UN peacekeeping mission to street poles. Everything is turned upside down. From those from whom protection and functioning of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina should be expected, they are precisely seeking protection for themselves.

What can a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina expect when High Representative Valentin Inzko and the OHR seek protection? Politics, as well as religious communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, behave similarly. They seek protection for their interests, while formally and substantively, the aforementioned systems must provide and be in the function of protecting the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina and be bearers of stabilizing the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the international community.