For peace, we need intelligence rather than strength

Ernad Metaj

Red Berets in Banja Luka, Green Berets in Sarajevo and Bužim, as well as Ustasha symbols at the Partisan Cemetery in Mostar take us back to the nineties. Their songs and shouts again reduce us merely to religious groups that can never get out of the medieval narrative in which only the argument of force was acknowledged. Nothing is accidental, not even the orgy of the Chetniks who intimidated the returnees to the RS, nor the message of the ‘old Bosniak warriors’ that this time everything would be different because they believe that the balance of power has changed compared to that of the nineties. All this is orchestrated and everything is in the hands of the current authorities in both entities.

It is clear to everyone in BiH who wants war; the question is who wants peace and what is he ready to do to finally achieve it!? It is wrong to talk about a new war in BiH because the authorities did everything to ensure that the one from the 1990s never ended. It continued, only the weapon has been temporarily put away. The Balkans region has always been a gunpowder barrel that can be ignited by a single spark, and it has been incessantly sending sparks all around. If it breaks again, nothing will be different - those who call for war would continue to profit from it, while tears and blood would remain for the naive poor who agreed to feed on nationalism.

The opposition, unwilling to assume peace as the only alternative to the madness of the ruling structures, is (again) doomed to defeat. Instead of raising their voice and working to bring together all the people who do not want war, and there are many of them in all three nations and among Others, the opposition is insanely continuing to revolve exclusively within national hubs. In this way, they fit into the narrative that was brilliantly described by a friend of mine, comparing the current situation with a scene from the movie ‘At Uncle Idriz's’. A mother asks her son who is chopping the wood in the middle of summer ‘why do we do it when we don’t need wood'. The son answers: ‘The strength, mother, we need strength’. If the opposition parties want the best for themselves, if they want peace and prosperity in the country, they must finally understand that in the current situation we need intelligence, a lot of intelligence.

What is also needed is courage to drive the opposition out of the thick shade, in which only individuals from its ranks eat well the bones and crumbs that remain behind the greedy government. It took courage for the opposition in the FBiH to say that it does not mind the commemoration of war battles and victories in Krajina, but that it does not support folklore which again gives a stone into the hands of those who terrify Europe with Islamic extremism. The opposition in the RS lacked the strength to distance itself from the unconstitutional January 9 parade; it could have at least condemned the Chetniks' orgy, thus sending a message to Europe that fascism still has an alternative. Radical groups are instruments of power and both have passion for profit. One must learn that even the thickest pain over Ustasha and fascist symbols in Mostar cannot conceal the ideologies that the governments thrives on. 

By distancing itself from that, the opposition misses the chance to finally offer itself to the EU as a credible partner that will build the peace in the Balkans that Europe so much cares about. The time for that has never been better, because the EU has finally found the strength to clearly identify the culprit for the situation in BiH and initiate talks about sanctions. The opposition and the citizens have no way of understanding that the lesson from the period 1992-1995 is not to be ready for a new conflict. On the contrary, Dayton has shown that battles are won through diplomacy, negotiations and signatures around the table. The wisdom and courage to accept something that is not to your liking saved BiH then and preserved its sovereignty and integrity.

Only the naive believe that in the international community then (and even now) there was/is no readiness for other solutions. Agreeing to ‘dance’ to war drums again could be a signal to the EU that everyone in BiH is the same, which provides an alibi for re-reducing the agreement on the future of BiH to the leaders of the three ruling parties and bypassing state institutions. It is time for the opposition to wake up and set peace as its platform in the negotiations. For that, they need the support of people from all over BiH. The battle for the state is much more serious than the war between pop rock and turbo folk.