Written by: Nenad Kecmanović
In Belgrade: “Only unity saves the Serbs,” while in Sarajevo: “God forbid the Serbs unite.”
It seems that Vučić’s successful lobbying at the UN General Assembly and Dodik’s recent visit to Russia, along with their dinner with Xi Jinping in Belgrade, has troubled the Bosniaks more than it has delighted the Serbs. This is evidenced by an interview with Zlatko Hadžidedić, a leading academic commentator for TV Face (June 7).
Once again, the focus is on the alleged plan to divide Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) between Serbia and Croatia.
“This is a plan that has been in motion since ’92. Europeans have been working on it, with Americans depending on the balance of power in the State Department. Matthew Palmer and Pablo Escobar have particularly worked against Bosnia. And we shouldn’t trust the current ambassador Murphy, as he was one of those earlier. The U.S. is preoccupied with issues in Ukraine, Gaza, and Taiwan and no longer has its former power. For decades, they have pointed fingers at Republika Srpska and Dodik as the main problem, but they do nothing. Worst of all, our authorities, from Izetbegović to the Troika, do nothing but appease others and wait for them to solve everything. The people have fallen into apathy and don’t care which country they will wake up in.”
“So, what should be done, Professor Hadžidedić?” asks the dejected journalist. “If Dayton doesn’t work, we have the right under Dayton to revert to the previous communist constitution of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. That’s my suggestion,” says Prof. Dr. Zlatko. Oh Zlatko, the Dayton Agreement also states that judiciary, taxes, military, security, border police, etc., are under the jurisdiction of the entities, yet the Bosniaks do not respect this. That is precisely why Dayton is not working.
In Hadžidedić’s vocal musings, we could hear encouraging news that the Bosniaks have come to the realization, albeit belated, that the U.S. has more pressing concerns (Ukraine, Gaza, Taiwan) and is no longer as powerful as it once was. They have discovered that “the U.S. is not a mosque where they can pray.” It’s worth reminding Zlatko that when the Americans were at their most powerful and without pressing concerns, they crafted Dayton, which is now referred to in Sarajevo as a “straitjacket for Bosniaks,” and that it wasn’t only Europeans who divided BiH into Greater Serbia and Greater Croatia. I don’t know what wrongs Escobar and Murphy committed against Bosnia, but Matthew Palmer told the Bosniaks “not to expect the American cavalry to ride in from Trebević.” If that angered you then, today you could thank him for honestly warning you in time. It’s also fair of Hadžidedić to admit that Bosniak politicians, from Izetbegović to the Troika, have not taken matters into their own hands but have instead pandered to others. These others include both the Occident and the Orient, but certainly not the Serb and Croatian neighbors. And it’s no wonder that the Bosniak people have become despondent and apathetic under such a policy and politicians. But that’s not all Prof. Dr. N. Hadžidedić said.
There are serious contradictions in his statements. For example, he still claims that “Russia has no influence in Srpska because it lacks the necessary infrastructure on the ground. Frequent meetings between Dodik and Putin are mutual simulations meant only to create the impression of strong ties and support.” At the same time, Dr. Zlatko is angry: “Let Elmedin Konaković announce a visit to Putin or his colleague Lavrov, and they won’t receive him.” “Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe and specifically to Belgrade was no coincidence.” So, for Zlatko, first, Russia has no influence, and frequent meetings between Dodik and Putin are simulated connections, yet the problem is that the Bosnian Foreign Minister can’t reach even Lavrov, let alone Putin. Why should Elmedin bother going to Moscow if they have no influence over events in BiH? He’s right only in that they lack infrastructure on the ground, but they have superstructure. Russia doesn’t have a consulate in Banja Luka like the U.S. does, but it recently established an office and is building an Orthodox church and spiritual center together with the Serbs. You yourself call them big and “little Russians.” That’s superstructure without infrastructure!
Zlatko also claims that “the West verbally criticizes Dodik but supports him in practice, so he does what they want, or what they tell him: ‘Destroy Dayton!'” Since this absurd claim doesn’t warrant serious comment, why didn’t Hadžidedić advocate for the return of the stolen competencies to Srpska, over which Dodik has been struggling for decades, and jointly defend Dayton?
Furthermore, Hadžidedić considers that, unlike Palmer, Escobar, and Murphy, Jim O’Brien, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Eurasian Affairs, is BiH’s only hope because he has clearly stated: “Without Srpska and Dodik!” But who knows where this “Bosniak light at the end of the tunnel” will be after the U.S. elections, so he’s not much of a guarantee. Prof. Dr. Zlatko himself doesn’t know whether to keep fingers crossed for O’Brien or rely on oneself and one’s resources, so how will the average Bosniak know?
Finally, one bizarre remark about the President of Serbia: “Vučić always emphasizes recognizing the territorial integrity but never mentions the sovereignty of BiH.” I haven’t noticed this, but Jasmin Mujanović, a learned voice of the Bosniak diaspora in Canada, in an interview with Kliker.ba (June 4), regarding the translation of his book “Bosniaks – A Nation After Genocide” into Bosnian, claims the opposite – that “Vučić threatens the territorial integrity, while Milanović and Plenković threaten the sovereignty of BiH.” Until Jasmin and Zlatko agree, let’s return to Hadžidedić and assume he is right, but that doesn’t mean the President of Serbia is wrong. Although it’s often said that BiH has external but not internal sovereignty, in reality, it has neither. Since it’s still under a protectorate even after 30 years, BiH is not a sovereign state. Not de jure, and even less de facto. And even if Vučić repeated a thousand times that Serbia recognizes its sovereignty, it wouldn’t help.
Hadžidedić’s lament over Bosnia and the Bosniaks was prompted by the declaration of the Svesrpski Sabor in Belgrade, where Srpska and Serbia, as Serb lands within the broader Serb world, announced a new memorandum. There’s nothing substantially new in the declaration that hasn’t been written and signed in various contexts for years and that falls under the Dayton parallel and reciprocal ties between Srpska and Serbia.
This time, however, it was all more comprehensive, explicit, determined, concrete, and inspired. The emotion and energy brought by Vučić from America and Dodik from Russia, with songs and dances in folk costumes and fireworks, deafened the ears and blinded the eyes of the Bosniaks.
There are indeed new and important nuances in the declaration… Vučić has never more openly and directly reciprocated Dodik’s “gaze towards Serbia” and shown more understanding for Dodik’s policies because “he knows better there,” and “Serbia will never leave Srpska out in the cold.” He didn’t even have to say that much because it’s implied, but it was nice to hear, although it caused unnecessary panic in Muslim Sarajevo. The Quint demanded that the Serb authorities abandon the Sabor. Murphy stated that “Serbia, with the declaration, is destroying Dayton,” and received an official response that “Serbs are literate enough to read what is and isn’t written there.” But also the question: why is the U.S. ambassador in Sarajevo advising the president of another country in Belgrade? He replaced his colleague Hill in Belgrade because it was revealed that Hill had previously said while serving in Sarajevo that Serbs should be “driven out of BiH.” He probably has the same plan for the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija. The Sabor was held despite the Quint’s opposition, Vučić rebuffed Murphy, Dodik as usual even more harshly, Hill remained quiet for a while… Times have clearly changed.
Last Saturday, we mentioned five modes of separation: peaceful agreement, peaceful unilateral, spontaneous over time, and legalizing the factual situation. We forgot one more: complete integration of one nation in two states and strategic merging into one. Dodik succinctly explained it with a celebratory glass in hand: “There is no state without love!” Yes, that is what Bosnia lacks to be a state. Serbs love Serbia more, Croats love Croatia more. They also love BiH, but each loves their entity, or rather their cantons.
Explaining the failure of Kalay to create a Bosnian nation, Count Andrássy said 100 years ago: “Bosnia cannot be a state because it does not breathe with one soul.” The Serb world has one soul, but as Patriarch Porfirije said, “it gathers with itself and within itself, not against others.” And it has no intention of, as in 1918 and 1945, dying to liberate others and create a deceitful joint state of Yugoslavia in its natural size or in a Bosnian miniature. In vain, for Sarajevo, the declaration is a continuation of the Načertanije and the memorandum, and
the Sabor is like Gazimestan. Resigned Hadžidedić rejects even the encouragement from the Belgrade intelligentsia: “Dodik is finished,” “half of Serbia against Vučić.”
Source: RTRS
