CVIJANOVIĆ: BiH IS A HOPELESS CASE - WHILE OTHERS FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENT, SARAJEVO UNITARISTS ARE FOCUSED ON APPOINTING A FOREIGNER

ISTOČNO SARAJEVO, JULY 21 /SRNA/ - Serb member of the Presidency of BiH Željka Cvijanović told SRNA that BiH truly appears to be a hopeless case, because while others are focused on development, all the talk of Sarajevo unitarists here boils down to whether some foreigner will be appointed who will punish Republika Srpska and create a state according to their own preferences.

Cvijanović stressed that, unfortunately, several EU countries still advocate such an approach and see BiH’s path towards the EU exclusively as a process of centralisation; that is why there has been no real progress, she said, adding that it would be better to accept the realities. When asked whether the lack of agreement on the appointment of a High Representative is also part of the new reality, Cvijanović said that it was one example. She reminded that the US position had been clearly stated in the UN Security Council and stressed that the High Representative was not envisaged as a permanent solution, and that processes should be transferred to democratically elected domestic institutions and representatives of the constituent peoples. She told SRNA that it is concerning that the EU’s position is either vague or, which is even more absurd, fundamentally un-European in its essence. "EU officials say that it must be a person who will bring BiH closer to the EU, but they forget that some fifteen years ago these functions were separated so that a High Representative would not interfere in EU-related matters, but that this process would instead be led by the EU itself through its representatives. They have also forgotten that they themselves said that the role of the High Representative was incompatible with the European integration process. And, not to mention that the Venice Commission clearly stated more than 20 years ago that the existence of High Representatives was an obstacle to the democratic development of BiH," Cvijanović recalled, asking what the truth was — what they said back then or what they are saying now? TREATING BiH AS AN EXPERIMENT HAS TAKEN THE COUNTRY FROM ONE CRISIS TO ANOTHER All of this, she says, shows that BiH is being treated as an experiment, while everyone is fully aware that such an approach has led the country from one crisis to another. "Surely they did not think that Republika Srpska would simply remain silent and accept everything they intended to take away from it," the Serb member of the Presidency of BiH stressed. She explained that the High Representative is not a problem if he operates within the framework of Annex 10, but that the problem lies in the subsequently created so-called Bonn powers, which have no basis whatsoever in international or domestic law and which were used to punish political opponents and pursue anti-Dayton centralisation of the state. Noting that things are now changing on the global political stage and that this is why advocates of the unitarisation and centralisation of BiH are nervous, Cvijanović said that they have lost considerable ground on the world stage, both in the East and the West, because no one is willing to listen anymore to their unfounded complaints, nor do they believe they are still called upon to supposedly help while the country continues to regress. "Their letters calling for the retention of the Bonn powers are in vain as well, because that is proof that they do not know how to manage the processes themselves," Cvijanović pointed out. POLITICAL PROCESSES IN MULTINATIONAL COMMUNITIES ARE MANAGED THROUGH AGREEMENT WITH OTHERS When asked how political processes should be managed in a country such as BiH, a complex state community consisting of two entities and three constituent peoples, Cvijanović said that in any multinational community, managing processes means that you have to reach agreements with others. "Our colleagues from the Sarajevo political scene have become accustomed to foreigners giving them everything they ask for on a silver platter, so they have lost the ability to reach agreements with others. That is why they are now struggling to adapt to the new circumstances, because there is no longer the uncritical favouring of one side at the expense of others that they had become used to," she explained. She stressed that Republika Srpska is not seeking any favouritism, but rather a balanced approach, which it is finally receiving. "We show twice as much respect to those who respect us. Perhaps in the past we were not able to resist pressure equally strongly, but today we can. Perhaps we once did not have enough partners to engage with around the world, but today we do. We have no one to apologise to, because by doing what is good for ourselves, we are not harming anyone. We are ready to cooperate with everyone except those who would seek to harm Republika Srpska," Cvijanović said. THE MOST SERIOUS REFORM WILL BE IN THE JUDICIARY, BOTH REGULAR COURTS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT When it comes to reform processes in BiH, the Serb member of the Presidency of BiH told SRNA that the most significant reform will be the one that must be carried out in the judiciary, both the regular courts and the Constitutional Court of BiH. "It is unacceptable for a judge of the Constitutional Court of BiH to say that, under the Constitution of BiH, some unelected foreigner has the right to impose laws. This is a collapse of the Constitution itself, which stipulates who is an authorised proposer and who is the legislator, as well as of the institution whose role is to protect the Constitution and constitutionality," Cvijanović said.