The recent statement by HDZ BiH leader and the member of the Presidency BiH Dragan Covic that BiH as a civil state would essentially mean an Islamic state, caused strong reactions by BH public.
- I respect those who want a civil state. However, in today's BiH, a civil state would mean a classic unitarism in some form, theoretically, which essentially means an Islamic state, said Covic to journalists following his most recent visit to Zagreb.
The vice-president of SDP BiH, Lana Prlic, says that SDP advocates for a civil state which will be decentralized but not on the basis of ethnic divisions. 'Civil values are actually the European values and we are the bearers of such values', said Prlic.
The president of the Croat party BiH, Bozo Skopljakovic, also condemned Covic's statement. 'These statements are meant to undermine trust and confidence among the citizens, aimed at maintaining the status quo which makes them untouchable', thinks the president of the Croat Party BiH.
There have been many reactions on social media, from the humorous to the most serious ones, which all hold Covic's message dangerous and fascist.
'Ready for caliphate', wrote with sarcasm the economist Svetlana Cenic on her Twitter account, as a caption to a photo of her taken in a mosque.
'A civil BiH is an Islamic BiH?! It looks like Covic is possessed by Dodik's ghost', wrote Srdjan Puhalo, a psychologist and blogger from Banja Luka.
'According to Covic's logic, a civil state is the same as an Islamic state. If so, the civil football team Dinamo is the Islamic football team Dinamo, wrote blogger Adis Nadarevic.