The Serb member and Chairwoman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović, stated that all major problems in BiH stem from unconstitutional and unlawful actions by unelected foreign officials who believe they can instrumentalize the judiciary and sanction political parties.
Speaking on the television program Telering, Cvijanović emphasized that issues in BiH must be resolved within domestic institutions through dialogue that includes all stakeholders.
She pointed out that the illegal actions of foreigners have emboldened the entire political structure of the Bosniak population, which now believes this is a mechanism or tool to suppress Serbs and Croats or to create a state that suits only them.
“It is a deviation for a foreigner, thirty years after the war, to bear no responsibility for the lives of our citizens, for the economy, or for the future, while imposing harmful decisions. A foreigner is the one who created the constitutional and political crisis. The consequence of this is that it encourages one political or ethnic group into believing that this is how states are built. But states are not built by foreigners changing laws and sanctioning politicians they don’t like. States are built by sitting down together, talking, and making joint plans,” Cvijanović stressed.
She said there are more and more interlocutors today with whom such topics can be openly discussed.
“Awareness is growing. I believe we are at the beginning of a process that will ultimately place things where they belong,” she stated.
Cvijanović added that within the new U.S. administration, there is a growing understanding of the fundamental problems in BiH, and that it is unacceptable for a country that aspires to be democratic and sovereign to have an unelected foreigner who believes he can enact laws.
She noted that during her recent diplomatic engagements, she received many encouraging messages, even from some of the more hardline individuals, who now seem to understand what the formula for peaceful coexistence in BiH should be.
“I believe my role was to communicate that. This is a problem that has remained unresolved for years, but I’m pleased that there are now people who are carefully observing and recognizing that these practices are incompatible with what a modern state should look like,” Cvijanović said.
She also noted that certain U.S. officials followed the UN Security Council session, which indicates an increased awareness there of some of the deviations and anomalies that need to be corrected.
Cvijanović pointed out that every time members of the BiH Presidency speak publicly, it becomes clear how divergent their positions are.
“But it’s not a bad thing to show that, because the international community — which still holds illusions about how to build a state — might need a clearer picture of what BiH really is,” she concluded.
Source: RTRS
