The representatives of the three political parties in the Bundestag, which make up the German ruling coalition, reacted to the intervention of High Representative Schmidt, by which he unblocked the formation of the Government in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) entity.
Boris Mijatovic, representative of the German party ”The Greens” and spokesman for human rights and humanitarian aid, commented on the decision of the High Representative for BiH, which removed the blockages for the formation of the government of the FBiH.
“Yesterday’s decision of the High Representative for BiHrepresents another serious encroachment on the Constitution. The international community must not give the impression that it is conducting party politics in BiH or that it is serving supposed ethnic interests. The goal must be to strengthen democracy in BiH and overcome the ethno-nationalism that is propagated by certain Serbian, Croatian, and Bosniak actors,” says Mijatovic and adds that every person who promotes democracy and overcoming ethno-nationalism has the support of his party. “We stand for public dialogue, transparency and inclusive processes. For us, the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, which focus on the rights of all citizens of BiH, and not on the interests of politicians who serve a nationalist clientele, are key,” said Boris Mijatovic yesterday.
A representative of the German Social Democratic Party in the Bundestag, Adis Ahmetovic, made a similar statement. He characterized intervention by High Representative Christian Schmidt which happened on Thursday, and which encroaches on changes to the Constitution, as “a fateful day for BiH“.
“Yesterday’s decision of the high representative is one of a series of serious interventions for the greatest good of a democracy. For such a young democracy as BiH, such actions are profound and have long-term consequences. For this reason, I criticize the way which was used, because as a parliamentarian, in the country I represent, I would never accept something like this,” Ahmetovic said yesterday in a statement.
“Steps for overcoming blockages are welcome”
The statements of Ahmetovic and Mijatovic differ from the reaction of Thomas Hacker, a member of the Liberal Party FDP, which together with the SPD and ”The Greens” forms the ruling coalition in Germany. He supported the intervention of Schmidt.
“Steps to overcome ethnic blockages driven by individual interests are welcome,” said Hacker, who is also the rapporteur of the FDP parliamentary group for the countries of the Western Balkans.
“The intervention of the High Representative Christian Schmidt in the formation of the federal government was necessary after a multi-year blockade by the Party of Democratic Action-SDA, which was rocked by corruption scandals. Tolerating and continuing the crisis of power, which has lasted since 2018, would again harm the will of the electorate after the elections in 2022,” stated Thomas Hacker in a statement, DW reports.