ANĐELKOVIĆ: SARAJEVO'S POLITICAL ELITE ACTS AS IF IT STANDS STILL IN THE 17TH CENTURY

BELGRADE, JUNE 12 /SRNA/ - Political analyst Dragomir Anđelković told SRNA that the cancellation of the European Rabbis Conference in Sarajevo under the pressure made by politicians in the Federation of BiH, the Islamic Community of BiH, and the local public, shows that Sarajevo's political elite behaves as if it is still in the 17th or 18th century.

Emphasizing that during those times the principle of collective guilt prevailed - where entire peoples or religions were persecuted due to certain individuals' actions - Anđelković pointed out that the banning of the gathering in Sarajevo, along with prior attacks on Jews in general, confirms that the Sarajevo political elite consistently exhibits aggression and exclusivity. Anđelković believes it is absolutely unacceptable for the legitimate pursuit of national interests to be projected onto individuals, religions, and entire peoples through stigmatization. "This is absolutely anti-European behaviour, and what they are doing now in Sarajevo against Jews shows the entire world what they have done and intend to do to Serbs as tolerance is multilayered," Anđelković said. According to him, those who are intolerant act that way toward everyone, which should be a lesson for European circles evaluating the situation in BiH. "This is not about Jews, or Serbs, or Bosniaks - it's about civil and human rights. When those rights are fundamentally threatened, it becomes a major danger. So, BiH - or rather, those attempting to usurp it - talk so much about European values while trampling them whenever opportunity for doing so appears," Anđelković stated. He believes Sarajevo won't suffer consequences for such behaviour as it still enjoys the protection of a large portion of extremist Euro-Atlantic circles. "These Euro-Atlanticists, even when they are not satisfied with some of Sarajevo's actions, continue to back Sarajevo as it has been their policy since the 1990s. If they were to abandon Sarajevo, their enforcer, they would have to admit they were wrong all along," Anđelković explained. He emphasized that extremist Euro-Atlantic circles continue to support Sarajevo precisely because they themselves invested in the wrong policy. "On the other hand, there are increasing chances in the future that America and many other power centres moving away from that Euro-Atlantic circle, will distance themselves from Sarajevo, which strengthens the position of Republika Srpska as it fights for its rights," Anđelković concluded. The European Rabbis Conference, which brings together chief rabbis from across Europe, was scheduled to take place in Sarajevo between June 16 and 18.