[wzslider autoplay=”true”]The choice of the citizens was undoubtedly the independent BiH, which all three ethnic groups in BiH decided on the referendum held on the 29th of February and the 1st of March 1992.
However, shortly before the referendum, representatives of the winning national parties in the first democratic elections (SDA, SDS and HDZ) in different ways commented and made media propaganda about the crisis in Yugoslavia in media reports.
Thus, the then president of the Serbian Assembly in BiH Momcilo Krajisnik shortly before referendum was holding out the hope in international community and the Lisbon agreement. On the other hand, Radoslav Brdjanin, the president of the Autonomous Region of Bosanska Krajina, was openly emphasizing that the Serbian people are the most vulnerable in BiH, and accusing SDA that they do not care about the unique Republic of BiH.
What kind of polarization ruled on the eve and the day of the referendum is vividly described by the fact that the SDS openly urged the citizens of Serbian nationality not to vote in the referendum, while parallel with this example, a taxi drivers in Mostar, caught up in the euphoria of an independent BiH, were giving free rides to citizens.
“BiH to decide on the sovereignty”, said the title of the Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje, on the first day of the referendum, the 29th of February 1992. How strong was the belief that citizens will vote for independence is best illustrated by one subtitle in Oslobodjenje on the first day of the referendum, which already announced that the European Community will discuss the independence of BiH on the 2nd of March 1992.
Most of the world’s media, and especially the US, predicted the vote of independence of BiH, which was transmitted by local media.
On the referendum question: “Are you for a sovereign and independent BiH, a state of equal citizens, peoples of BiH – Muslims, Serbs, Croats and members of other peoples who live in it?”, over 64 % of citizens responded positively.
(Source: S. H./Klix.ba)
