Bosnian Serb paper accuses Tihic of inciting ethnic hatred
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - September 1, 2006, Friday

Text of report by Veljko Kojovic entitled "Hatred and resistance" published by the Bosnian Serb newspaper Glas Srpske on 29 August

It is generally known that treating others to suspicion, accusations, and insults, that is to say portraying someone in a negative light, is an expression of hatred. The feeling of hatred and animosity go hand in hand and, as a rule, they lead to crime.

Speaking on behalf of those who support him, Sulejman Tihic [B-H Presidency chairman] has for a long time expressed hatred toward Serbs and the [Bosnian] Serb Republic. How far his hatred has gone is best illustrated in his message, sent from his current office of the head of the country, that those who do not accept his views about the organization of the state "can go somewhere else, but they cannot take with them or claim a single centimetre of Bosnia-Hercegovina."

Had a Serb representative said something similar, Tihic and his like would call it the worst kind of fascism. I will not comment on the content of such a statement, because my interest is not in the fact that a Bosniak leader spreads and stirs up hatred, but rather the reason he does so.

The creator of the Islamic Declaration [Alija Izetbegovic] personally chose Tihic as his successor, that is, made him the leader of the Bosniak people, thus determining his task: to put into practice the political doctrine of the declaration by introducing an Islamic order in Bosnia-Hercegovina. The Serb Republic represents the biggest hurdle, both institutionally and legally and otherwise, to establishing this desired order. Therefore, it must be destroyed. This must be done as soon as possible, because as long as the Serb Republic exists, it denies the Bosniaks the exclusive right to Bosnia-Hercegovina. The creation of the Serb Republic was interpreted as opposition to the Islamic order, that is, to Islam, which is undoubtedly partly true. Tihic and his followers, who inherited and wholeheartedly support the teaching of their leader, use every means possible to put an end to the Serb Republic. This is because "whoever rises against Islam will reap nothing but hatred and resistance." [quotation from Islamic Declaration]

The announcement of the departure of the OHR [Office of the High Representative], particularly of the high representative with his Bonn and other powers ["Bonn powers" entitle the high representative to remove anyone from office], has only served to increase the B-H Presidency chairman's anxiety and inappropriate public behaviour. Tihic is used to being in the position of an untouchable leader, because whatever he did or said, the measures deriving from the Bonn powers were never used against him. Tihic is not willing to accept the only possible political reality in this country, making decisions based on agreements between the representatives of the three equal ethnic groups and the two entities. He wants to rule.

To descend to the level of reaching agreements would for him mean losing the grip on the "historical right" of his own people to establish an order that suits them and that has already been defined. The grief over Paddy Ashdown's [former High Representative] departure is so noticeable and it even brings disagreement within Tihic's party apparatus and within the entire Sarajevo political class. They have problems coping with the new situation, particularly because that high representative, who has been long forgotten by everyone else, was not keen on having agreements negotiated or on partnership, but imposed himself as an only authority. His best yes-men would now like faithfully to continue his practice.

With the departure of the OHR, the principles of Tihic's policy and his inherited position have come under serious question. Namely, according to those political standards, the international community, particularly certain individuals who had been lobbied, was supposed to work in favour of the Bosniak political project. Unfortunately, this was in the past. This is the reason for the anxiety about the departure of those whose very existence here negates the sovereignty of Bosnia-Hercegovina and postpones its coming closer to Europe. We need to add to this argument the well-known Sarajevo behind-the-scenes politics in certain circles, where the international community is vigorously criticized for not implementing some of their radical Islamic and political goals.

The change of the international community's mandate has changed the responsibilities of the domestic politicians. Tihic is not ready for this, either. Therefore, he is trying to complicate internal relations and heat up interethnic confrontations in order to extend the stay of the OHR, with all the powers of the international representative.

Tihic wants and expects to be re-elected to the B-H Presidency as the Bosniak people's representative. At the same time, he expects that the "first phase" of the constitutional changes will be passed under pressure from the international community, which would, in his opinion, enable him to become the first president of this country.

Linked to this is the third reason for Tihic's political and verbal aggression toward the Serbs and the Serb Republic. All the surveys and polls indicate that he is no longer certain to hold the position of unquestioned successor, that is, to be re-elected to the office of the Bosniak number one. According to the polls, politicians who are more radical, the nationalist candidates, enjoy clear support. This confuses and makes Tihic nervous, leading him into making abrupt and inappropriate moves. One of those moves is the glamorous reception of war criminal Naser Oric, as well as the meeting with General Dudakovic. His statement on this is an offence to the many victims of war; it is the glorification of a criminal who ruthlessly carried out ethnic cleansing, ordering the killing of Serb civilians and the burning of their century-old homes.

If he continues to behave in this manner (and without any reaction from the international community) in an attempt to win votes for himself and for an exclusively Bosniak Bosnia-Hercegovina, he will become the one most responsible for a referendum on the secession of the Serb Republic. And it is a well-known fact that this is the last thing that he would like to happen.

What would be the outcome of the referendum is known in advance, because who would want to live in a system and a country modelled by Tihic's rules and to live together with Tihic and his supporters?

Source: Glas Srpske, Banja Luka, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 29 Aug 06 p2

Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
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