Amendments to the Election Law and announcements by domestic politicians about the possibility of postponing the elections have been a top topic in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)lately. Former member of the Presidency and former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister of BiH, and also the former founder and president of the Party for BiH – Stranka za BiH (SBiH) spoke about this issue, as well as Milorad Dodik’s attempts to appropriate state property and register it as the property of the Republika Srpska (RS) entity.
Since he has been active on the political scene, he pointed out the importance of state property, and through a conversation with Anadolu Agency (AA), he explained its importance, saying “by questioning state property, the survival of BiH is also in question.”
“For me, the state property of BiH has always been crucial. I was the Prime Minister of the Republic of BiH in 1994 when we turned the social property into state property. I believe there are two aspects, one is economic which is obvious and very significant. The second is key, and that is territorial integrity and sovereignty, and state property plays a big role in that. People think these are some barracks. State property is everything, from water, ores, land, forests… It is something that BiH is consisted of and that is why it should be taken most seriously. It is a question of the survival of the state of BiH, “ Silajdzic stated.
Also, he warned that the dispute over state property was initiated by those who attacked BiH.
“There is a calculation to take enough of what is important in BiH, hydroelectric power plants, Trebinje, agricultural land, forests, so that it can be said ”here we have Serbian land‘ and thus justify what they call the loss of Kosovo. I think that thepossibility of such a calculation, the entity of RS for Kosovo, really exists, “
The United Nations (UN) and the international community have an instrument to stop secessionism
Speaking about mechanisms to prevent confiscation, Silajdzic noted Dayton protects state property.
”If we have Dayton then it is protected. State property was not in question in Dayton either, we did not allow that to be an issue. It is a question of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Dayton protects state property because it protects BiH, which continues to exist as a state under international law. Those who have a completely different plan are denying it, and the Constitutional Court has confirmed that this is the case. Therefore, we can talk about use, management, obligations, but not about redefining ownership. It is the property of BiH and it will stay like that,”Silajdzic told.
He stressed that state property should serve all citizens of BiH.
“In this current situation, the owners of that property benefit the least from that, and that is every citizen of BiH. Four to five years ago, we submitted a project called ‘BiH Development Fund’, it came to Parliament and remained in a drawer. 40 to 50 pages were written, translated into English addressed to all international factors here, I was involved in it, but it was not my field so it was done more by experts who understand it, who analyzed what state property is, how it can be used especially here in this situation when young people are leaving the country. We just talk about it and do nothing. It will be good when actions will be more important in BiH, than words only,“ said Silajdzic.
Further, he emphasized how and in what way to stop the secessionist moves of Milorad Dodik and RS.
“The UN, of which BiH is a full member, and the international community have instruments to stop it. Of course, we would like to see more concrete moves, but the international community is going its own way, creating a consensus in Europe, where there are those who look with sympathy on the moves that come from the ideology of Greater Serbia. They are true in the minority. Mechanisms exist and when the international community will use them depends on our activities and what we do. I am happy with all this activism, especially when it comes to the young generation. It is a difficult situation, but those who love BiH should not be afraid. Obviously, a new generation has matured, a young one, which is defending its BiH in the best way, with modern methods, means, and technologies. They are very active, I congratulate them on that. They know how to choose the right paths, “ Silajdzic noted.
A new generation is capable of defending and developing BiH
He told that the SBiH Party has been a serious political force since its founding and that it will stay like that led by Semir Efendic.
“I believe we have a new young generation capable of not only defending BiH but also developing it.”
E.Dz.
Source: Federalna
