TOTALITARIANISM IN B&H

QUO VADIS BOSNIA?

AIM, SARAJEVO, September 27, 1994

Neither are all Bosnian Muslims members of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), nor are all the Croats members of the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ). And nothing to say about the other nations which live in the free parts of Bosnia&Herzegovina. And yet, as time goes by, it is becoming increasingly clear and obvious that these two parties have usurped the inviolable right to represent the interests of these two nations, to create and determine the entire political life in Bosnia&Herzegovina. The two ruling parties are therefore quickly becoming two parties which rule by terror, suppressing the opposition and the already fragile initiators of democracy. Freedom is given only to their sympathizers, so maybe the moment when all non-members of these parties will be declared traitors of the country is not far.

"There is no dilemma any more that the leaders of the SDA and the HDZ are constructing a concept of single-party national feuds which leave no room not only for members of other nationalities, but not even for any of those who think differently", these are the words of Sejfudin Tokic, the Vice-president of the most powerful opposition party in B&H, the Union of Bosnia-Herzegovina Social Democrats, who corroborates his statement by the fact that all directors of enterprises in Sarajevo who have not proved their aptness by membership in the SDA were removed, that censorship has publicly been introduced in B&H media, and that state and party leadership are equalised. But, Tokic continues: "Unfortunately, some of the so-called opposition parties whose representatives are sitting in the Presidency and the Government of B&H have also largely contributed to such a situation".

It is generally assessed that the activities of the opposition parties in the region controlled by the Army of B&H are carried out with great difficulties, maltreatment and harassment. For instance, in some ten places in Central Bosnia, members of the Social Democratic Party were deprived of their own premises and they were prevented to work; in Lukavac near Tuzla, the President of the local SDP was summoned for interrogation by the police because he keeps Tito's picture in his office, although members of this party have contributed enormously to the defense of Sarajevo and the Republic.

The situation in the parts controlled by the Croatian Defense Council is even worse. Activities of all the parties except the Croatian Democratic Community here are prevented, even of those which also bear the national sign, like the Croatian Peasants' Party or the Croatian Party of Rights. The Croatian National Council is not allowed to work either, and nothing to say about the parties of civic orientation. The monopoly of the SDA and the HDZ to express the interests of all the citizens of Bosnia&Herzegovina is best demonstrated in these past few days concerning the most vital issue for the state - the implementation of the Washington Agreement, i.e. the Constitution of the Federation. Since this process is not taking the expected course, leaders of these two parties have taken the matter in their hands - they determine the time limits for formation of the municipal councils and the organs of the cantons, they prescribe the sanctions, they hold meetings and reach decisions. Representatives of other parties, naturally, do not even exist for them. All they can do is to publicize statements, protests and warnings about failures at poorly attended press conferences, so their voice is neither heard nor respected.

"We are completely suspended and disabled to function normally. For example, when Mostar city administration was elected, no political party but the SDA and the HDZ were consulted. The greatest paradox is that in certain places, the SDA and the HDZ, as if by a rule provided by nature, claim for themselves the mandates won by the Serbian Democratic Party in the local elections. In the elections for municipal authorities, especially now on the level of the cantons, the union of these two national parties is reasserted, even in regions such as Tuzla, where the HDZ had ceased all its activities", Nijaz Durakovic, President of the SDP, and even a member of the RB&H Presidency, claims, adding that they have initiated a debate about this in the Presidency and the Assembly. What will come out of it, remains to be seen...

The President of the Republican Party and another member of the Presidency, Stjepan Kljuic, is even stricter in his assessment. Among other, he says the following for the AIM: "By signing the Washington Agreement, few errors were made, the rules of the game were not made official, actually it was not precisely said who shall implement the Agreement. I think this is the greatest mistake of Alija Izetbegovic. Namely, he accepted the HDZ as the exclusive partner on the Croatian side, although the HDZ has done the least to bring to peace. Both Tudjman and the HDZ have signed the Agreement under pressure exerted by the USA and not by their own free will. And instead to be eliminated as those who have caused and waged war, they were appointed as the main protagonists of the federal contract, they are expected to implement peace, which is impossible, of course. The Washington Agreement was thus reduced to a contract of two party oligarchies which wish to use it for two things - to remain in power and to be the exclusive representatives of the two nations", the new oppositionist, Kljuic, claims.

The Vice-president of the Liberal Bosnian Organization, Salih Foco, has a similar opinion: "The HDZ and the SDA have led to the conflict between the Croats and the Bosnians by their national policies, and the existing personnel neither have the legitimacy nor enjoy the trust to establish and realize the spirit of the Washigton Agreement. That is why new men are needed, unburdened by the past and perilous policy, new elections are also needed to establish the true legitimacy of every party and its leadership." According to the opinion of the Liberal Party, implementation of the Washington Agreement is slow and difficult, because of the defects of the document itself, but also because the exclusive right to implement it was claimed by the SDA and the HDZ, and not by state organs.

That is what representatives of the Bosnia-Herzegovina opposition have to say. But, they too must take a part of the blame for the overall situation in Bosnia&Herzegovina. Their voices were hardly ever in unison, they are disunited, fragmented, often infected by the nationalistic virus or by the struggle for power or a burning desire to attain power (again). In the Parliament, which rarely meets anyway, there were no joint appearances of the opposition. A part of the opposition parties never radically distinguished itself from the authorities, nor did they formulate an alternative policy of a civic concept and win a broader portion of the population of all nationalities. The ruling parties know only too well how to use the omissions of the opposition, its weakness and impotence, how to impose their policy in all spheres of life, although it is often far from civilizational norms, and close to a two-party totalitarianism. The world seems to know this, no matter who might be affected by it, so one should not be surprised by the fact that Bosnia&Herzegovina has lately begun to lose its credit with the international community, that its interest and support are diminishing, and that warnings about drastic violations of human rights, civic and democratic freedoms are increasing.

In the end of this text, finally, the question from the beginning: Quo vadis Bosnia?

MLADEN PAUNOVIC