Žilić for NAP: The 'Trojka' will try to bill the opposition for poorly done or undone work, in 2010 we were closer to NATO!

Interview by Delvin Kovač

It can already be stated as a sad fact that the citizens of the Federation, or rather the part of the Federation where political pluralism exists, are represented in the Council of Ministers by Konaković, Forto, and Helez, and a book could be written about each of them without a single affirmative sentence about the main characters.

This was stated in an interview for the Patria News Agency by the President of the Main Board of the Democratic Front (DF) and a representative in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH, Hajrudin Žilić.

Žilić commented on the current political situation in BiH, spoke about the disunity of factors that care about our country, the European path, the actions of the current government and announcements of forming some new coalition at the state level, Čović's pressure regarding the Election Law...

How do you comment on the current political situation - what do we currently have on the scene - obviously blockades everywhere and the collapse of the constitutional and legal order of Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Žilić: Laws were passed in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska prohibiting the work of the Prosecutor's Office and Court of BiH, as well as SIPA in the territory of the Republika Srpska entity. Furthermore, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska passed a law related to the formation of an entity HJPC, amended the Criminal Code, and introduced a new criminal offense of "Disobedience to the decisions of the institutions and bodies of Republika Srpska." It is clear to everyone that this is an act of unilateral abolition of the jurisdiction of the state of BiH in a part of its territory, which constitutes a violation of the BiH Constitution. Such a flagrant violation of the Constitution is nothing else but a coup d'état.

Look at the response of the 'Trojka' and HDZ as actors of the current government and coalition partners of Milorad Dodik and SNSD. The only response is a populist and irrational initiative to dismiss SNSD ministers in the BiH Council of Ministers. Such behavior is hardly characteristic even of small children; they hug a little, then quarrel a little, and thus waste mandates and insult the intelligence of citizens. However, this is becoming recognizable as their formula of behavior in order to preserve their positions and consume the competencies of managing public resources and public money.

It seems that the disunity of the pro-Bosnian/pro-Bosniak, academic, and scientific factor is perhaps a greater threat to the survival of the state than internal and external enemies. How do you see this?

Žilić: Aware of the fact that I may be misunderstood or misinterpreted, of these two prefixes, pro-Bosnian and pro-Bosniak, I am much closer, and even fonder of, the pro-Bosnian one. Namely, if I may say so, the guiding idea in my engagement in politics, and I would recommend and warmly advise it to everyone in BiH, is contained in a sentence by the late Professor Esad Zgodić from his book "Civic BiH" from 1996. Professor Zgodić wrote: "The survival of BiH as a state, as well as the existential survival of the Bosniak people, will depend on the outcome of the struggle between totalitarian ethnic concepts and the civic concept." Anyone who thinks that today's political reality is not exactly like that is gravely mistaken.

The Democratic Front initiated a campaign called "A Million Signatures for a Civic BiH" some time ago. It is interesting that none of the political options joined this initiative, although we emphasized that it did not have to be primarily a DF initiative, but rather a joint initiative of all those who wish for it. That's how much all other political parties are genuinely for the idea of a civic state, and how much it is just one form of false representation to citizens in their statements.

Regarding the second part of the question, I want to state that the terms internal and external enemy are terminology that I try to avoid. Simply put, this is terminology characteristic of political systems with totalitarian regimes and is used with the aim of maintaining power at all costs. Just look at Vučić's statements; he calls students internal enemies, and external enemies are irrational or imaginary financiers of student processes from abroad, as well as some EU and Western countries without whose financial support, through various models, Vučić's regime would be in big trouble.

Unfortunately, I do not see or notice this, as you called it, pro-Bosnian academic and scientific factor in BiH, so it can be said that it does not exist, and as such, it cannot be united or disunited. Admittedly, in the earlier period, there were some attempts at gathering, and even proposals for constitutional amendments by experts gathered on pro-Bosnian principles, but the authorities multiplied their good intentions and activism by zero. Such things and such an attitude have probably demotivated further attempts at gathering and acting. Of course, one should not fall into the trap of getting the impression of disunity in the academic and scientific community based on the views expressed by Enver Kazaz and Ivana Marić, who present themselves as political analysts and have the ambition to be called part of the academic factor in BiH.

We are witnessing that there is no European path, let alone a NATO path. And precisely the 'Trojka' swears by these European laws - which also do not exist. How do you comment on this?

Žilić: Bosnia and Herzegovina, unfortunately, was closer to NATO in 2010 than it is today. Certain progress was made in the period 2018-2022, when the DF, risking its political credibility, entered the government with the aim of focusing on efforts to initiate processes through the state Ministry of Defense and achieve progress towards bringing Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to NATO. I remind you that regular annual national programs, as part of the limiting obligations on the NATO path, started during that period; however, the current government managed to stop all of that and return it to zero.

What can be said about the credibility of the Minister of Defense who today states that Dodik will be arrested if he tries to enter one of the BiH Armed Forces barracks, and this same Dodik, the very next day, receives a formation in one of these same Armed Forces barracks and even sits while the state anthem is played in that same barracks. All of the minister's activities on BiH's NATO path are similar to that statement.

As for European integration, not to mention the failure to meet the conditions defined by the priorities submitted by the European Commission, I will only state that this government is unable to appoint the chief negotiator with the EU. Also, as a good example of the incompatibility of the current government with European processes and BiH's European path, one can cite the fact that they were unable to submit a reform agenda, or rather, they submitted it but incompletely, even though it was a condition for receiving financial resources from the Growth Plan for the region.

We had optimistic announcements from the 'Trojka' members that they would remove SNSD cadres from the political scene with various "excavators and erasers." This did not happen. Is the (un)hidden goal of the 'Trojka' actually to maintain this situation until the 2026 elections in order to preserve their current positions, aware that voters might punish them for inaction and for handing over all important institutions to Čović and Dodik?

Žilić: It is common knowledge that all their announcements ended theatrically, just as they were announced. The 'Trojka' announced a war on corruption, and every now and then we hear news that one of their ministers has been arrested for corrupt acts and abuse. Due to the number and frequency of such cases, this points not to a fight against corruption, but to corruption and nepotism as patterns of behavior.

However, it must be stated honestly that progress has been made in the implementation of the set of anti-corruption laws from 2010. Namely, we are witnessing the finalization of activities on the formation of POSKOK (Special Police Unit for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption), but it is quite certain that its formation is not a prerequisite for prosecuting corrupt acts in the previous period. Namely, the existing judicial system also has all the powers and possibilities for this. Ultimately, as a result of their "excavators and erasers" in the fight against corruption, the evident fact is that BiH ranks first in Europe in terms of corruption perception, and that is truly devastating.

After the failed "excavators and erasers," the 'Trojka' members realized that they would not succeed in advancing the European path with SNSD, so they tried to form a coalition with the 'Trojka' from the Republika Srpska entity. However, it is clear that nothing will come of that either, because HDZ has a say in it, and they do not want to give up SNSD.

Žilić: The formation of government at the BiH level with the opposition from the Republika Srpska entity is a pure farce for the public. I am completely convinced that this is part of the plan and agreement of the current coalition partners SDP, NiP, NS, and HDZ from the Federation with SNSD from Republika Srpska, with the ultimate goal that HDZ and SNSD help SDP, NiP, and NS ('Trojka') in their attempt to regain credibility with the citizens of the Federation who gave them a chance in the previous elections. Some opposition politicians from Republika Srpska have finally understood this game, as have all citizens of the Federation who know the procedures for dismissing ministers in the Council of Ministers, and the role and functioning of the House of Peoples in the state Parliament.

From this perspective, it can already be stated as a sad fact that the citizens of the Federation, or rather the part of the Federation where political pluralism exists, are represented in the Council of Ministers by Konaković, Forto, and Helez, and a book could be written about each of them, and a book without a single affirmative sentence about the main characters.

In your opinion, will the 'Trojka' manage to resist Dragan Čović's pressure regarding changes to the BiH Election Law?

Žilić: If I am guided by the fact that they have not resisted any of Dragan Čović's wishes, no matter how detrimental they were to BiH, then I can expect them to accept Čović's election law model, which would ultimately represent the installation of a third entity in the territorial organization of BiH. According to Čović's dictate, I witness this, they elected a judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH, the Management Board of the Public RTV Service, the chief auditor, and the deputy chief auditor; without firing a shot in a figurative sense, and solely for the sake of their positions, they handed over finances, Highways, indirect taxes, and security agencies into Čović's and Dodik's hands. For this reason, I do not call them 'Trojka,' but 'Trojans.' The only things left are the Election Law and legitimate representation, according to Čović's interpretation of legitimacy.

What is your forecast for the remaining 16 months until the General Elections to be held in October 2026 - will we "get on the right track" or remain at a status quo?

Žilić: In their intention to remain in power, and that power at the federal level was imposed through the unscrupulous actions of the High Representative and his suspension of the Federation of BiH Constitution for one day, the 'Trojka' will campaign to bill the opposition for everything they have done poorly or not at all, justify it with some past lost times, and will partially tone down their responsibility through a change of theses with their coalition partners HDZ and SNSD.

We can definitely "get on the right track" only if citizens understand the meaning of the quoted sentence from the book by the late Professor Zgodić, which I stated at the beginning of the interview, in the 2026 elections. In any case, I wish us all luck and better governance, and an alternative exists. That alternative is the Democratic Front, which is accountable solely to the citizens, not to Čović or Dodik, and not to foreigners, without expecting them, like the Trojans, to forcefully bring us to power.