Generals in political trenches

By: Sead Omeragic

When the WWII was over and Josip Broz Tito started the big recovery of the country, the only top people in the government were his soldiers. When the war of defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina ended, it was not possible to find one soldier in the government. Instead, they arrived: Nobodies from Nowhere. From corners, basements, hiding places and God knows which atomic shelters they surfaced.

When the real former soldiers speak about positions in the government, they will often point out that those from basements, logisticians, backs have occupied the key positions. Former soldiers do not seem to be even near these fine offices. What they have instead are 1,601 associations through which they fight for politically acceptable donations and nibbling bones thrown before them by their new masters. Even their associations are now led by the politically favored people. The worst consequence of this government are not the poor and social poverty but destroyed values and human souls.

When former soldiers seek their right, like the ones standing before the government building for several days and nights, then it is entirely suspicious.

The way those people are treated today reflects the fight that mainly Bosniaks led to preserve Bosnia and Herzegovina. That fight has become a taboo, a forbidden topic. The truth about the fight seems to be somewhat strategically avoided. The contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina is governed by people who do not what it means to risk one's life or lose a limb. The same people have been making the former soldiers into social cases over the past two decades so no wonder they now treat them as social problems. Ministries for former soldiers have transformed into social institutions for issues of soldiers.  One grand, heroic battle that ended with tens of thousands of victims and the handicapped, has been degraded, humiliated and reduced to mere surviving of the survivors.  

It is no coincidence that now one cannot tell between fascists and anti-fascists. Since the truth about the war is unwelcome, everything else is – allowed.

We have war generals and party commanders. Generals of Army RBiH have become servants of those party generals. Regardless of their excellent incomes and pensions, they work as advisors to those in power. There's no one single individual from the circle of generals who has entered the circle of top government without a little help from SDA. The generals are tied to SDA for a fistful of KM – now that is not a nice picture indeed.

By doing so, they have betrayed their comrades-in-arms. Because, they were supposed to stand by their side and not the side of political parties and the government, regardless of benefits and perks which come with the position. They were expected to understand their former soldiers and empathize with them. Our generals agreed to advise politicians instead of those who 'gave' them their general's order and rank.

Is all morality gone? Our government is concerned about nations instead of – people. When you care about the nation only, you ought to do nothing, you only ought to look concerned.

Where is social justice? There isn't one. After all, we haven't been building a just society but a society for the privileged and the chosen. We have numerous proofs of that. We have created a society which destroys everything good in people, their hearts and pride. We have created a society which favors only those who obey. And here we are. Stuck in a dead-end street.