In her public address, the Chairwoman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željka Cvijanović, began with clichés that have been repeated “a million” times. She stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina is in a political crisis. However, she did not blame her party leader, Milorad Dodik, who, along with his loyal followers – including Cvijanović herself – undermines the state and its institutions daily. Instead, she pointed the finger at High Representative Christian Schmidt.
As she has done many times before, she repeated the “mantra” about his alleged illegal appointment and actions.
“It is said that a decision by the Peace Implementation Council is sufficient for the appointment of the High Representative. However, the existence of such a council is not provided for in the Dayton Agreement, nor is the holding of the Bonn Conference (in December 1997), where the Bonn Powers were adopted,” repeated Cvijanović, echoing one of Dodik’s “favorite” phrases.
Besides Schmidt, Cvijanović blamed Bosniak politicians, or “political Sarajevo,” for the current crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this context, she mentioned an open letter sent by ambassadors and consuls of Bosnia and Herzegovina—appointed at her proposal—to Presidency members Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić. She reiterated the letter’s claims that Bosniak politicians bypass “Serb” diplomats in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s diplomatic-consular network, without explaining why this happens. Instead, she added that those ambassadors are not obliged to implement what she called “unconstitutional decisions.”
“Bosnia and Herzegovina’s diplomacy is dead, and the main culprits are Presidency members Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić, as well as Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković. They are the organizers of the funeral for Bosnia’s diplomacy. And let me tell Serbian ambassadors that they will not be dismissed—no one will do that, and least of all Minister Konaković,” Cvijanović stated.
What particularly irritated her was Slovenia’s request, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, to hold closed consultations on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the case of closed consultations, no representative from Bosnia and Herzegovina would be able to address the Security Council. Since Cvijanović is currently the highest-ranking official in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this would directly prevent her from presenting “Dodik’s truth” to the Security Council members.
Despite numerous contradicting facts, Cvijanović claimed that Serbia, and specifically its President Aleksandar Vučić, do not interfere in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s internal affairs. On the other hand, she accused Bosniak politicians of meddling in Serbia’s internal affairs, citing Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s visit to Sarajevo and his meetings with Bosnian officials as supposed evidence.
Regarding relations with Serbia, she also mentioned Bećirović’s speech today, which was one of the few new things she said.
“I instructed my associates to count how many times Bećirović mentioned Vučić in his speech. They told me they reached 4,692 and then gave up counting,” Cvijanović stated.
In her address, she also insulted Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Minister of Defense, Zukan Helez, over his views on Serbia and his accusations regarding Serbia and Vučić’s interference in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s internal affairs.
Written by our correspondent D.I.
