The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Zukan Helez, yesterday sent a letter to his colleague in Austria, Klaudia Tanner, regarding the incident in which a cadet of the Armed Forces of our country participated.
As he said in a statement, Helez expressed his regret in the letter for the situation that arose when the cadet of the Armed Forces of BiH (AFBiH) refused to shake hands with Minister Tanner, saying that he could not do so because of his religious beliefs.
“I hereby appeal to all those who have religious beliefs that conflict with practices, laws and the Constitution of BiH, not to join the Armed Forces. There are other jobs that they can do, and I cannot work here against the law and the Constitution,” Helez said.
He further pointed out that he had discussions on this topic with the reisul-ulema of the Islamic community in BiH Husein-ef. Kavazovic, as well as with the military mufti in the AFBiH, establishing that this practice does not exist in the tradition of Muslims in our country.
When asked about potential sanctions for the cadet, whose identity has not been released, Helez says that everything is regulated by law.
“I ordered the investigation and it is being conducted by the Chief Inspector of the AFBiH, General Edin Fako. When all the facts are established, potential sanctions will be imposed in accordance with the rules of the AFBiH, as well as the laws of our country,” says Helez.
To recall, according to the Austrian media, the incident happened during the traditional ceremony, which represents the peak of the annual activities of the Theresan Military Academy in Vienna’s Neustadt.
The cadet refused to shake Minister Tanner’s hand because she was a woman, citing his religious beliefs. As a result, the soldier was immediately excluded from the rest of the ceremony and was not even presented with the traditional academy ring, which was confirmed by the Austrian Ministry of Defense.
According to the Austrian media, Deputy Minister of Defense of BiH Slaven Galic was informed in advance that the cadet would not want to shake hands with the minister. That is why the soldier was not even invited to the stage. Minister Tanner expressed her dissatisfaction with this act, and Galic later apologized on behalf of BiH, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
