Decency, arguments, the virtue of beautiful expression on the political scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina have long been discarded concepts. Instead, in order to, as some claim, defend the constitutional order or sovereignty of the state, and even for the benefit of the people, they send offensive messages, without censorship. Statements by the Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zukan Helez in which he insults the Croatian MEP Željana Zovko and the American politician Max Primorac resonated in the media space and caused violent reactions. Others were also insulted, so it went without sanctions, analysts claim.
Instead of sanctions, political officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina manipulate the public with hate speech, gain popularity, and create opinions, analysts claim. They remind that the responsibility of politicians must be greater, as well as worthy of the function they perform. Such statements, they believe, are inappropriate and cannot be tolerated.
ZUKAN HELEZ, Minister of Defense of BiH
“We have witnessed recently what the semi-retarded Željana Zovko is doing, who persistently interferes in the internal affairs of BiH. These are those Ustasha bastards, oh her, oh that Primorac who persistently lobbies in Washington to divide BiH”.
At a time when we should be one step closer to the European Union, such statements are dividing, and creating new intolerances that no one needs. There is a thin line between freedom of speech and hate speech, explains the interlocutor Rubina Čengić.
RUBINA ČENGIĆ, journalist
“It is very difficult to punish hate speech, because, we had an explanation and lawyers that every such speech must be placed in the context of freedom of speech, and then there is a very thin line between freedom of speech and hate speech. We do not have a large number of criminal charges for hate speech, we do not have any verdicts on the basis of which we could speak about judicial practice”.
In any developed democracy, this would be reason enough to demand the dismissal of the minister, emphasizes analyst Ivana Marić. Recalling the numerous examples in which high-ranking state officials resigned, some out of moral and ethical responsibility, some for faking a doctorate, such as the former German Minister of Education, the Swedish Minister of Trade hired a nanny illegally, but also resigned due to long-term non-payment of TV subscription fees, while the Japanese Minister for the Olympics, although he apologized, was asked to resign due to being late for a meeting in parliament.
IVANA MARIĆ, political analyst
“The penalties for such indecent, inappropriate behavior must be much stricter than for people who do not perform their duties. I think our legislation allows for this, but the problem is that few people want to initiate such procedures, because all parties do it and then they do not want to do something that could come back to haunt them tomorrow.”
MLADEN BUBONJIĆ, analyst
“Political elites, not only on this issue but on many other laws, are deliberately obstructing or calculating in order to extract some benefits, or to preserve the existing status quo in order to extract the best possible benefit and the greatest possible benefits for themselves”.
The statements of the Minister of Defense of BiH are damaging the international reputation of BiH, stated the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH Borjana Krišto. The Vice-President of the HDZ BiH Darijana Filipović also reacted.
BORJANA KRIŠTO, Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH
“Such statements represent a serious deviation from the standards of public communication and are not in accordance with the principles of professional and political responsibility required by the performance of the highest state duties”.
