Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić spoke for the Austrian Der Standard about political current events in BiH. The focus is on the decisions of High Representative Christian Schmidt and the influences on his decisions.
In the interview he states at the beginning that Komšić is the candidate of those who are not in favor of ethnic nationalism, and that his biggest opponent is Dragan Čović and the HDZ party, who prefer some of their Croatian members to high positions.
At the very beginning, he was asked about which electoral reforms BiH needed, to which Komšić pointed out the Sjedić-Finci verdicts and the Zornić case, without whose implementation, he points out, there would be no BiH times in the EU. He also emphasizes that political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina do not really want to join the EU, but only declaratively, and that chaos is what suits everyone.
A large part of the interview is dedicated to the high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the influences on Christian Schmidt’s decisions, but first he looked at his personality.
“Mr. Schmidt is a very strange person. I would describe him as an elephant in a china shop. The worst part is that he doesn’t even seem to care what he is destroying in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately, his reactions are a bit hysterical when his mistakes are pointed out. Obviously there is a problem in the structure of his personality,” Komšić said, adding that he considers him “an intelligent person with bad intentions.”
Speaking about the amendments to the Election Law of BiH and the FBiH Constitution that Schmidt brought, Komšić emphasizes that he made a mistake several times and that it can be seen, judging by the fact that he tried to fix what he brought on the day of the elections in BiH.
“He made numerous mistakes. At first he thought that he had resolved the electoral law in favor of the HDZ. Then it turned out that this was not the case. That’s why he panicked and asked for a new decision. But he made a mistake again because his decision in four years could go against interests of the HDZ. Not only did he violate every democratic principle, but he also showed that he does not think about what the consequences will be. But what is worst, inter-ethnic relations have only worsened since his decisions,” he said.
When asked if Schmidt’s decisions in BiH are anti-Muslim, Komšić answers that they are anti-Bosnian.
“The hostility towards Muslims exists throughout Europe, but when it comes to Mr. Schmidt, I would say that he is actually working against Bosnia and Herzegovina. His decisions are directed from the outside, but they are essentially directed against Bosnia and Herzegovina. When it comes to anti-Muslim sentiment , it should be of interest to the whole of Europe, and not only to people from that part of Europe. Unfortunately, we no longer have personalities with great ideas in Europe. Europe is falling apart, the seams are coming apart,” he said, stating that there is resistance in Germany as well. according to Schmidt’s policy.
Komšić points out that “Schmidt is doing everything that the American Embassy in Sarajevo asks of him”.
“The fact is that the upheaval of US policy in the entire region did not start with this US administration, but with the Trump administration and envoys Matthew Palmer and Richard Grenell. We already discussed the electoral law and the constitution in 2017. But with this new US administration, there is now intense pressure to do things the way they were meant to be done. I don’t think US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has the right knowledge of what’s going on here. His adviser, Derek Chollet, is leading him. He sees himself as an expert on Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he says.
He emphasizes that for the Americans right now stability is the most important thing in Albania, Serbia and Croatia because they are the three biggest nationalist centers in the Balkans.
“And Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina should pay the price. Of course, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti doesn’t accept it that way. People in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina don’t just accept it either. So those who they refuse under pressure. But these are precisely the politicians who sincerely believe in democracy and Western values. That’s why I asked the American ambassador: Why, please, do you want to lose friends even if you don’t gain new ones? But that obviously doesn’t matter,” he said.
Der Standard journalist asked Komšić whether the USA is reviving the old hegemonic thinking about Bosnia and Herzegovina. To which he said: “It’s definitely an anachronistic policy, it’s an old template, even though the whole world, Europe, has changed. And here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, everything has changed. The only thing that remains the same are the traces and wounds from the war. In any case, this policy is built on completely false foundations.”
He also commented on the role of the EU in the processes in BiH, saying that they offer too little resistance to the Americans.
“I don’t expect anything spectacular from the EU. When it comes to EU-US relations, I sometimes have the impression that Brussels is more Catholic than the Pope. Now the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borell, hastily threatened sanctions against Kurti, just to show that the Americans are not waiting to do the same. But they are all wrong… I don’t understand why Brussels and Washington are taking such hasty, nervous and careless steps. There are just people who won’t budge unless the Americans convince them. And the Americans can physically push those people aside somewhere, but the ideas of those people still remain among the people,” said Komšić.
