Izetbegović: Radical Croatian Right More Dangerous than Establishment of Islamic State

Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegović dismissed the claims of his Croatian colleague in the state leadership Dragan Čović that the demographic dominance of Bosniaks threatens the establishment of an Islamic state in BiH.

In an interview for the portal Slobodna Bosna, Izetbegović stated that Čović’s statements are a recycling of an old thesis that has been pulled out “like a club” since 1983 and the so-called Sarajevo process, during which a group of Muslim intellectuals led by Alija Izetbegović was tried under the accusation of counter-revolutionary activities.

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“This time (the club) has been given new energy and opportunity by the Islamophobia triggered by the migrant crisis. The goal is to weaken the position of Bosniaks, to place a mortgage of radicalism on our necks, and to compensate for the weakening of the HDZ’s position after the verdict of the Hague Tribunal (to Jadranko) Prlić and others, to exert pressure to achieve solutions favorable to the HDZ,” asserted Izetbegović.

He commented on Čović’s statement earlier this week in Zagreb, where the leader of HDZ BiH claimed that a civic state in BiH actually means a unitary, and thus an Islamic state, as it would call into question the rights of the other two constituent nations.

A similar warning was issued by Čović last week in Brussels when he, Izetbegović, and the Serbian member of the Presidency of BiH Mladen Ivanić spoke with the president of the European People’s Party (EPP) Joseph Daul.

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Izetbegović believes that Čović’s goal, or that of HDZ BiH, is not the territorial division of BiH “even though that is also threatened,” but rather “the division of the electoral base” or the RTV system, institutions, ministries.

“That is why Dragan Čović launched an attack before Daul with the thesis of ‘radical Bosniak right’ and ‘intentions to create an Islamic state on the territory of BiH’. Of course, such a thing does not exist, but there is a radical Croatian right and a joint criminal enterprise established by the verdict of the Hague Tribunal. Therefore, according to their logic, it is worth trying to put Izetbegović and the Bosniaks in a position to defend and justify themselves. I responded that it was not the Bosniaks who created a joint criminal enterprise, destroyed Mostar, and created concentration camps in Herzegovina, that we did not raise the moon and star over Mostar, but a cross was raised,” said Izetbegović.

Commenting on the disputes regarding amendments to the electoral law of BiH, Izetbegović stated that he expects discussions in the BiH parliament on this matter after mediators from the European Union, the USA, and the Office of the High Representative (OHR) conduct individual consultations with the leadership of political parties and when the “outlines” of possible solutions are determined.

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“I assume that (the mediators) will try to crystallize a solution acceptable to everyone, or the necessary majority, and then it will eventually be adopted as a proposal of that majority to be taken into parliamentary procedure,” said Izetbegović, speaking about a possible exit from the current deadlock.

In the BiH parliament at the end of January, two opposing proposals for amendments to the electoral law were rejected, which were submitted for discussion by HDZ and the Party of Democratic Action (SDA).

The deadline for amendments to the electoral law expires at the beginning of May, or six months before the elections, which are scheduled to be held on October 7.