ČOVIĆ: UNITARY STATE WILL NEVER COME TO LIFE

BANJA LUKA, DECEMBER 1 /SRNA/ - HDZ BiH President Dragan Čović stated that civic and a unitary BiH will never come to life, adding that attempts to create a new, superficial concept based on erasing the identities of the peoples in BiH are impossible.

"It is impossible to transform our faith, culture, language, and heritage, preserved for hundreds of years, into something else. I am certain that the vast majority of representatives of each of the three constituent peoples live and want to be called the same as they have been throughout history," Čović said. He emphasized that a protectorate or, at best, a semi-protectorate is currently in place in BiH. "I say this in the context of the fact that it is the High Representatives who, using the Bonn Powers from 1997 until today, have issued more than 900 decisions that have affected constitutions, legislation, and even led to the removal of democratically elected officials from office. Something like that is problematic," Čović told Glas Srpske. He emphasized that he would form a third entity if he could. "I haven't, because that would require changing the Constitution. Without a constitutional change, it really makes no sense to delve too deeply into such discussions. When we talk about what needs to be done differently in the future, then we say that a different arrangement must be created, one that will meet the needs of every constituent people and every other resident of BiH," Čović added. He noted that there are significantly different views on Dayton, and that some people fantasize about "a completely different `Dayton Two`". "Some say that Dayton was written in such a way that, after fifteen or twenty years, a similar debate would inevitably be reopened, and that it would then be transformed into something else, with the international community once again becoming involved," Čović said. He emphasized that it is difficult to expect the international community to respond to the needs BiH is facing. "The foundation of everything is the fact that the principle of constituent status is a constitutionally binding and overarching category. The Constitution of BiH rests solely on the constituent status of its peoples, as confirmed by a ruling of the Constitutional Court of BiH," Čović said. He expressed confidence that in the 2026 general elections, the Croats will elect their member of the BiH Presidency.