The most important court instance had its say, after the verdict was officially announced, it was put on the table of BH politicians who have different reactions.
From those who took note of it and believe that this is another verdict in a series that will not be implemented, to those who say that this is a victory for rights because ethnic representation must not have primacy over political representation.
Discrimination is contrary to European values, and for changes to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina that will make discrimination impossible, even if such a proposal is made, a two-thirds majority in the Parliament is missing.
The member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Bećirović, says: The obligation of the state is to ensure equal rights for all citizens. And the governing Troika in a joint statement is clear: This is an important roadmap on how to eliminate any form of discrimination.
“We need real support, primarily from European countries and other friendly countries. The verdict sent an unequivocal message to Bosnia and Herzegovina – the state should take all necessary steps to protect its citizens and to eliminate any form of discrimination from the socio-political decision-making process,” said Bećirović, among other things.
“In the last 20 years, we have witnessed many historic verdicts that have remained a dead letter on paper. This is the responsibility of both domestic actors and the international community itself, especially the European Union, which had an ambivalent attitude towards this issue. Clearly recognizing the importance of ethnic identities, which the court itself does not deny, we must find solutions that will remove any form of discrimination and organize Bosnia and Herzegovina as a modern state that will guarantee respect for the rights of all citizens. We believe that in this judgment and other judgments we have a clear path to reach that goal. It is a responsible and long-term process to which we are fully committed,” the leaders of the Troika pointed out.
A different reaction from the RS. The delegate from SNSD in the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Radovan Kovačević sees the implementation of the verdict as something that could disturb the peace.
“One judgment that will never receive any support from the RS. Anyone who violates that type of constitutional structure in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and here we are talking about the equality of the three constituent nations and the equality of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, threatens and violates the peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Kovačević said.
There is no dilemma for the Croatian National Assembly either. They say that political representatives will not be imposed on Croats:
“The goal of that radical political agenda is to achieve an order in which the Bosniaks, given that they are the most numerous constituent people, will rule in a unitary state and impose their representatives on the Croats and everyone else. The HNS remains committed to the Dayton Peace Agreement, which guarantees peace between the three constituent nations. Attacks on the fundamental constitutional principles, including the equality of the constituent peoples, contribute to the instability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and slow down its European path”, the HNS stated.
A member of the opposition SDA, Šemsudin Mehmedović, is of the opinion that it is false consolation for victims of discrimination:
“It is very clear that this verdict will force Dragan Čović to take extreme measures and that we will soon see Dragan Čović transformed into Dodik: Čović will be forced to make similar moves as Dodik, withdraw from institutions, destroy the system, announce the establishment of entities and secession” , Mehmedović believes.
For now, the only thing that is certain is that the comments, polemics and disagreements of politicians will continue, until the time comes to approach the EU path and the implementation of this, as well as the previous five judgments, of the court in Strasbourg.
