(VIDEO) Imširović: The civic state has evaporated from the vocabulary of the SDP and NS, which is why they helped overturn Slaven Kovačević's appeal!

(Patria) - Political scientist and researcher with a special focus on politics and security in the Western Balkans, as well as human and minority rights, Azur Imširović is the guest of the new podcast of the Patria Agency, and in a conversation with Neven Kovačević he commented on the work of BiH institutions, the secessionism of policies from the RS, the passivity of the pro-Bosnian bloc, and regional circumstances.

Regarding the idea of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a civic state and Dayton as a solution or obstacle, Imširović says: “Dayton was excellent for stopping the war, but it is not good for peacetime conditions. The Dayton Constitution is particularly unsuitable at a time when BiH should start negotiations on EU accession. Dayton is a millstone around the neck of Bosnia and Herzegovina and as such the main obstacle. The situation in the last few years is such that we have never been further from a civic state, which everyone supposedly swears by, but no one is working on it.”

“We are witnessing Dodik's fierce secessionism, and on the other hand you have the HDZ led by Dragan Čović who every now and then, more or less seriously, talks about a third entity in BiH as the only way to realize the rights of the Croatian people. On the third side, you have the ruling Troika, which through its work contributes to the strengthening of ethnic divisions. Everything that the HDZ and SNSD demanded, which leads to the weakening of the state and civic BiH, the Troika parties have delivered. The most scandalous case here is that of Slaven Kovačević, whose case in Strasbourg fell, thanks to the direct support of the Troika parties, which allowed all instruments of the state of BiH to be used to overturn that ruling, which was ultimately overturned. You no longer have politicians from the SDP or the supposedly liberal Our Party talking about a civic state; that has disappeared from their vocabulary,” Imširović stated.

Speaking about the institutional mechanisms for protecting Bosnia and Herzegovina from the secessionism of Dodik and Čović, Imširović says: “Institutional mechanisms formally exist, but the problem is their application. Of course, any talk of secession would fail in the BiH Parliament. But here we are not talking about an institutional way of dismantling BiH. Institutional mechanisms are sufficient to prevent the disintegration of BiH, but they are not sufficient to prevent the blocking of all processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. What troubles BiH the most is that two nationalist parties, the HDZ and SNSD, are actively working to stop all processes. Their goal is to bring BiH to total paralysis, so that at some point, they hope, talks about the disintegration of BiH or at least its division into three unconnected entities will gain citizenship rights in BiH and the international community: Some may think it impossible, but we used to say it was impossible for Dodik's sanctions to be lifted, and they were lifted. The HDZ and SNSD make all mechanisms for protecting BiH useless; that is the crux of all relations in BiH.”