Intervju za Borjana

1) From what I've read, you are very critical of former President Izetbegovic. Could you please elaborate as to why? Not only I, all Bosnian patriots criticized him for th following reasons. Dayton agreement (November 1995) is a death of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina (short form: Bosnia); the agreement is merely the final document in a series of agreements made and signed by Alija Izetbegovic. Let us remind you of some crucial concepts regarding the international relations, which affect Bosnian issue very much. In the beginning of the war "the world" was sided with the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Why? Because the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina was a recognized country, a member of the UN (May 22, 1992), and a victim of gebnocide. Hence, Bosnia was under the protection of international law and the UN Charter. That is why even Russia, Greece, China and some other Serbian, either orthodox or socialist, friends had to recognize Bosnia and had to vote for the economic sanctions against Serbia/rump Yugoslavia. USA, England, Russia, France, and China were not sided with Bosnia because they like Bosnians more than Serbs, but because Serbia violated the international law, i.e., because Serbia committed the aggression against the member of the UN. When President of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegovic accepted the negotiations with the aggressors in September and December of 1992, he made a terrible violation of Bosnian Constitution and Bosnian interests. Namely, the problem could have been solved either through the implementation of the UN charter and international law or through negotiations. The first way was the only appropriate way for Bosnia, because Serbia was already designated as the aggressor and Bosnia as a victim in resolutions 752 and 757 of the Security Council in 1992. Unfortunately Izetbegovic abandoned the international law and accepted the negotiations as a method for 'solving' the Bosnian issue. This prevented any international intervention towards protection of Bosnia. The negotiations even prevented the lifting of the arms embargo. How can the embargo be lifted if the "peace process" is ongoing? This argument was handed to enemies of Bosnia as an excellent excuse for their vetoing of lifting of the arms embargo. We are Bosnians who begged Izetbegovic not to negotiate with the perpetrators of the genocide, Yugoslav Army and their leaders Milosevic, Karadzic, et al. In many personal contacts and letters Bosnian patriots explained all the catastrophic consequences of negotiations as follows: 1. The discussions with the subject "What about Bosnia?" will reopen the questions that were already solved by recognition of Bosnia as a sovereign state in the Spring of 1992. 2. If legal Bosnian Government accepts to negotiate with rebels it will convert the rebels from war criminals to diplomats who represent Bosnian Serbs instead of loyal Serbian representatives in the Bosnian Government. (This is the same reason, for example, why the French government does not accept rebel Basks or Corsicans to negotiate about French constitution.) 3. Acceptance of Karadzic and Milosevic as a negotiators about the new Bosnian Constitution is an act deprived of any dignity, because they and their generals committed so many crimes against Bosnians, including mass killings and rapes. 4. The negotiations between "Bosnian Muslims" and "Bosnian Serbs" will reformulate the internationally declared aggression, into a "civil and religious war". As we know UN can not get involved in a civil war on one side. This is the second reason why the UN could not intervene on behalf of the Bosnian side. The first one was the "ongoing peace process" 5. Knowing that the Bosnian borders cannot be changed and that aggression cannot be rewarded, Serbian soldiers do not have any motivation to fight and die in vain. However, negotiations that will give them some part of Bosnia will only add to their motivation; as such, "peace negotiations" and territorial carve-up serve only as an added incentive and a 'green light' for aggression and genocide. In spite to those advises, Alija Izetbegovic chose to renegotiate the destiny of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was already recognized sovereign nation. 2) In a lot of his rhetoric in the media, Izetbegovic spoke about a civic and multi-ethnic state - do you think he was being dishonest? He was dishonest, but he tricked Bosnian people, not Serbs. It is very difficult to understand state of mind of the people in Bosnia during Yugoslavia. The communists controlled everything, even mindds of the people. During the 80 years of Yugoslavia a very strong assimilation of minorities into Serbs was going on. Izetbegovic was one of the Ethnic Bosniaks who was assimilated into Serbian political nation. Former Bosnian leader Hamdija Pozderac was the main problem for executioners of the "Greater Serbia" project. Unlike Alija Izetbegovic he never accepted to negotiate about neither Bosnian borders nor the Bosnian Constitution. That's why the "Greater Serbia lobby" in Bosnia tried to remove Hamdija Pozderac from power several times and to put in power somebody like Izetbegovic; somebody who will negotiate and legalize Serbian war gains; somebody who will pretend to be a Muslim "fundamentalist". Hamdija Pozderac was the leader of Bosnians who imprisoned Izetbegovic in 1983. Pozderac's police found out that Izetbegovic dreamed to partition Bosnia to ethnic states, which is in the best Greater Serbian interest. To reach that goal, he manipulated and still manipulates the Muslims of Bosnia and all over the world. Izetbegovic's "Islamic Declaration" was published for the first time in Belgrade, Serbia, by Serbian extreme nationalist publisher "Srpska rec" (The Serbian Word"). Every Bosnian knows that Izetbegovic declared himself as a Serbian national of Muslim descent. Bosnians did not pay necessary attention to those facts. Shortly before the war, in the setup known as "Agrokomerc affair", Bosnian leader Hamdija Pozderac was removed, and the influential Greater Serbia lobby in Bosnia released Izetbegovic from the prison and enabled him to register his party (SDA). As it was the first non-Communist party after 50 years of Communist control, Izetbegovic became a hero and a political leader. Hence, the office clerk Alija Izetbegovic became President of Bosnia. The Greater Serbia project could start. All Bosnian leaders who insisted on integral and secular Bosnia (as its Constitution and its citizens demand), were either removed by Izetbegovic, as, for example, General Sefer Halilovic, Muhamed Cengic, Dr. Rusmir Mahmutcehajic, or killed by Karadzic's Srebs. Examples of this method are Dr. Hakija Turajlic, Dr. Irfan Ljubljankic, and some other officials killed after serbs were tippt of where they were going. There are hundreds of other patriots removed, killed and injured in "accidents". The common political agenda of all those victims is that they all strongly opposed the partition of the country. Their names mean much to Bosnians, but they are unknown abroad, hence, omitted. To reach this goal, destruction of the sovereign state Bosnia-Herzegovina, Izetbegovic manipulates Muslims in Bosnia as well as Muslims all over the world, pretending that he is a Muslim "fundamentalist" who wants to establish a Muslim State on the smaller territory. Now, we came to the end. The Bosnian Parliament accepted the partition in 1994. The members of the Parliament were tricked by Izetbegovic that "this is just a tactic, because the Serbs will not accept it". After the Serbs refused the plan, he announced that Bosnia accepts the plan permanently and that the world should force the Serbs to accept it also. Hence, instead of a tactic, the partition became "Bosnia's destiny". Izetbegovic advocated often: "The plan is not good, but it is the only one." The Bosnian patriots are asking him: "Isn't the freedom and integrity of our country the only plan acceptable for the sworn President of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina?" 3) What about former Prime Minister Silajdzic? Was he genuinely committed to a civic, multi-ethnic state? Silajdzic was educated in the muslim religious schools and fluent in Arabic and English. As a such he was ideal candidate and devoted to Yugoslav diplomacy. When the dissolution of Bosnia started the same people (Yugoslav secret police) who set Izetbegovic to power assigned Silajdzic to help Izetbegovic. All of the leading Bosniak politicians (Izetebegovic, Silajdjic, Ganic) were in the same team, as assimilated Bosnikas into Serbs who worked for greater Serbia project. I explained how tight control of the population was during the communist rule by Yugoslav secret police, controlled by Serbs. Therefore, the only organized force among Bosniaks were those assimilated Bosniaks. This may sound as a conspiracy theory, but it was the truth. It was easy the secret police to do given the mass assimilation of Bosniak into Serbs during Yugoslav rule. There were thousands of people like Emir Kusturica, who did not engage publicly for the Serbian cause, but who still were sided with as the fifth column. (Ovdje cu upotrijebiti Bosanski, u nedostatku Engleskih rijeci "poturica, posrbica itd". Mi znamo da su za vrijeme Turske vlasti na Balkanu, mnogi pripadnci manjinskih naroda bili asimilirani - Srbi sui h zvali "Poturice". Za vrijeme Jugoslavije se dogadjao suprotan process, mnogi Bosnjaci su asimilirani u srpstvo, mi ih zovemo Posrbice, ili podrugljivo "Srbobalije". Alija Izetbegovic se svo do 1970 izjasnjavao kao Srbin. Oni su samo glumili muslimanske ekstremiste, cime su dodavali politicku municiju Karadzicu.) 4) The Bosnian government included members and officials from the SDA political party as well as officials from other parties and/or ethnicities. Do you think this had an impact on the Bosnian war effort and the Bosniak cause specifically? No, it did not affected the results of the war. The Serbs and Croats who were decided to defend their country The Republic Bosnia Herzegovina unfortunately were not the decision makers during the war. Alija Izetbegovic, and his team, protagonists of the greater Serbia project, made all decisions. For example, at the end of the war Milosevic did not have exit strategy, except to withdraw from Bosnia. There are testimonies of Serbian intellectuals that nobody wanted to go to war in Bosnia at the end of the war. Out of thousands drafted rookies, only hundreds of them would come to their units. That is the reason that the Serbs were in disarray in Bosnia similarily as before in Croatia. Unfortunately, Izetbegovic quickly ordered to Muhamed Sacirbegovic to run in Geneve and sign that 49% of Bosnia belongs to Serbs. It was signed September 16, 1995. That was the document that stopped Bosnian Army in front of Banja Luka Prijedor, Bosanski Novi. Victorious Bosnian Army was stopped because Americans said to them: Stop, you liberated yours 51% of the territory. 5) In terms of the SDA itself, is it accurate to say that the party included a group of people that promoted and believe in a more civic state as well as a group that was more religiously conservative? If so, did one come to have more influence and power than the other? There was only one important issue in the war, will Bosnia defend its secular constitution of the Republic, or it will be divided along the ethnic lines. Among both secular and religious Bosniaks there where majority who wanted unified civic country. That is the reason that Izetbegovic was set to power during Yugoslavia, the men who will divide Bosnia, which was a Serbian goal. Their problem for them was very mixed population, and that is the reason that they had so difficult job to do. They needed genocide, ethnic cleansing, and Bosnian leader who will recognized the facts of the genocide, give them a vining exit strategy by signing a peace deal. 6) Did you observe any increase in religious faith among the Bosniak population during the war - by which I mean greater belief in God and more frequent attendance at religious services? Yes. However, the same people that were first as communist, became the biggest muslins. This is the kind of people that must be with the government, and they are neither communist nor religious. They had benefits during the communist rule, and then they thought that they will have benefits again if they go to the mosque. 7) Are you aware of any data or surveys regarding religious observance among the Bosniaks during or right after the war? No. Nobody cared about such statistics. 8) How would you describe the change(s) in Bosniak identity from before the war, to during and right after the war, to now? Before the war, it was the time of the assimilation of Bosniaks into Serbs. And how assimilation is performed? You can assimilate one ethnic group, only if you make them to feel ashamed about themselves, if you make their children to feel that they are primitive, stupid, without culture etc. Probably you heard some jokes about stupid Bosnians, Mujo, Suljo, Fata etc. The biggest change came from the internet. The mainstream media is in the hands of the same people as before the war, the same holds for schools. Hence, the same people, the same policy regarding the Bosniak culture. However, now thanks to internet, you have Bosnian officials on one side, and Bosnian people on the social media on the other side, the people who consider Izetbegovic, Silajdzic and others traitors. For example, there are members, which openly consider Izetbegovic as "Posrbica", "Srbobalija". Everything I told you in this interview is in fact the mainstream opinion on Bosnian social media. 9) Can you recommend other people to speak with in Sarajevo about this topic, especially in regard to how rhetoric and policy were constructed in the Bosnian wartime government? May bee you can try with general Sefer Halilovic. If you are interested, I may contact him. Thank you very much again for sharing your knowledge and views. I look forward to your responses. Best, Borjan