The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Zukan Helez (SDP), commented on the decision of Christian Schmidt to leave the position of High Representative in BiH in the coming period.
“Christian Schmidt’s departure from BiH should not be seen as an extraordinary or dramatic event. The arrival and departure of high representatives has long been a common procedure in post-Dayton BiH. I am one of those who can hardly wait for the day when BiH will function without foreign interventionism and international supervision. However, in order for this to happen, BiH needs to be stable, functional and free from constant political blockades,” says Helez.
He adds that the problem is that the current political leadership of the RS entity, three decades after the aggression on BiH, is still driven by the same goals – the division of BiH.
“For years, they have been consciously blocking institutions, laws, projects and any serious progress in BiH, trying to portray our country as impossible and dysfunctional. The goal of such a policy is clear – to exhaust citizens, discourage those who love this country and tire the international community in order to eventually divide BiH and achieve the long-conceived project of a mythical ‘Greater Serbia’,” Helez points out.
He says that he expects the OHR and the next High Representative to finally focus on removing political blockades that are stifling the normal functioning of the state.
“BiH cannot be held hostage by a minority that is constantly blackmailing the entire system, blocking and halting the development of the state. It is time to enable the normal democratic functioning of institutions, where the democratic majority will make decisions, as is the case in all other democratic states. We are not asking for anything radical or anyone’s special rights – we are asking for a minimum of democratic principles that are standard in the modern world,” says Helez.
He reminds that today’s constitutional order in BiH was created as a direct consequence of aggression, judicially proven genocide and a joint criminal enterprise.
“Therefore, it is high time that our state is finally allowed to ‘breathe’ and function at full capacity. This must be the primary task of the OHR and the new High Representative. P.S. To those who are trying to present the rotation of the High Representative as a ‘victory’ for Milorad Dodik, just to flatter him for reasons known to them – your efforts are in vain. The citizens of BiH see very well who is blocking the state and who is sycophantizing the blockaders, and who is fighting for it to function, and they will ultimately decide everything,” Helez concluded.
