Anyone who cares about Bosnia and Herzegovina will take up arms and defend the state if the Republic of Srpska attempts to secede from it, stated the Chairman of the Presidency of BiH, Željko Komšić, in an interview published on Saturday by Sarajevo’s Oslobođenje.
In response to a direct question about what would happen if the current president of RS, Milorad Dodik, truly attempts to realize his threats of secession, Komšić said that in that case, the state would be defended not only by Bosniaks but also by many others, including himself personally.
“A fool is one who thinks it won’t be like that if a part of the country tries to secede,” said Komšić, emphasizing that the events in BiH from 1992 to 1995 have not been forgotten.
“Dividing the country certainly leads to war. That is why it is a foolish policy. Everything is negotiable, we can talk about everything, but we cannot discuss whether BiH will remain whole,” said Komšić.
Komšić assessed the overall situation in the country as concerning but added that it can be overcome.
Commenting on the current attitude of the international community towards BiH, Komšić asserted that, with the exception of the USA, there is no ‘meaningful policy’ here, only the interests of certain countries that are not solely tied to BiH but are significantly broader.
“I think the USA cares the most about us. Or at least they care about us the most honestly,” said Komšić, explaining that although BiH is not of strategic importance to Washington, the United States still insists on the values on which they themselves are organized in their relations with BiH.
