PARLIAMENTARY DAYS IN SARAJEVO

WHO IS INCOMMODED BY THE GOVERNMENT?

At its fifth session, the Assembly of the B&H Federation "prolonged the life" of the Government of Haris Silajdzic for a period longer than expected. After their three-month stay in Sarajevo, especially after they had faced and tried to cope with everyday life problems, the ministers belonging to the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) on one, and those of the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ) on the other side, unexpectedly drew near, more than their parties wished them to. When this Government proposed to the Assembly a comprehensive package of draft laws essential for the establishment of the Federation, representatives of constantly opposed parties - the SDA and the HDZ - could do nothing but return the proposed drafts by refusing to vote about them. Although they have thus made some maneuvering space for their parties for some, although short time, the very next session of the Assembly scheduled for November 30 will bring the SDA and the HDZ into the akward position when they will be forced to make a difficult choice - they will either make a move forward towards democratic and legal forms of policy-making, or prove their incompetence in establishing peace or any other form of joint life.

AIM, SARAJEVO, November 13, 1994

At its fifth session, the Assembly of the Bosnia&Herzegovina Federation "prolonged the life" of the Government of Haris Silajdzic for a period which might even be longer than predictions made on the eve of the session forecast. Since the tensions which arose before the Assembly indicated just the opposite, it is interesting to see what has actually happened and enabled the report of the Government "pass the test", and what it means for the future development of relations within the Federation.

It should immediately be pointed out that neither did the actual results of individual Ministries, nor did Silajdzic's cabinet in general, cause the speculations about the fall of the Government, just as they are not the true reason why it survived. This Government was, in fact, conceived as a result of the compromise between the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and the Croatian Democratic Community (HDZ), or better still, it is a hostage of the political relations of these two parties. Since they are two parties which were once at war with each other, conciliated by the Washington Agreement, and even united on the level of the Government and the Assembly, being a hostage continues to be risky. Because, these two parties are still on opposite poles and they would prefer to be able to dictate relations each on "its" own territory, but since they are aware that they will probably never be able to procure such conditions for themselves, they are now trying to adapt to the circumstances such as they are - to division of power on a joint territory. Founded on a political philosophy contrary to the very idea of a joint territory, these two parties act by declaratively supporting all the activities which contribute to the improvement of their mutual relations, but practically hesitate or fail to make most of the moves that would in fact bring them closer together. The interests of the so-called Herzeg-Bosnia, which is in fact a state within a state, as well as the attributes of power determined by legitimacy and the international sovereignty of the Republic of B&H, still have priority for the party oligarchies over the interests of the Federation of Bosnia&Herzegovina. The Government is, therefore, the only one which annuls such interests because it is a practical, actual aspect of realization of the Federation, and it is in no position to evade various moves, which is so characteristic for the two parties.

Having found itself in such a position, the Government began "producing" laws and establishing other practical foundations for the operation of the Federation, much faster than the radical factions of the SDA and the HDZ found it suitable. Life itself forced it to do it, that is, the everyday needs (the army, the police, the currency, education, health care...), and this has already acquired the proportions of creating conditions for "dangerous" joint living. That is exactly the reason why silent, but obvious, obstruction of the Government began. One of the high officials of the SDA recently told the President of a civic, opposition party: "You are not attacking the Government, because you know that the SDA does not back it up".

But, after the latest session of the Assembly, it is quite possible that the HDZ will not support its ministers in the joint Government as wholeheartedly as expected. Because, after their three-month stay in Sarajevo, and especially after having started to grapple with the everyday life problems that the Government was expected to resolve, another step towards "dangerous" union was taken - this time by the ministers belonging to the SDA and those of the HDZ. Operation of the Government thus showed, in the most practical way, that reality, everyday life, has nothing in common with the naturally abstract nationalistic objectives. Life itself denies them in the best possible way, and the Government, as its direct political expression, approaches such life more than the mentioned political parties find it desirable. Both the SDA and the HDZ would try to defend themselves from such development of affairs by delegating the "hard-core" personnel to the Govbernment, since they both fear that "soft" ones would be even more liable to such an influence. But, in view of the fact that the Assembly was under constant direct "surveillance" of the ambassadors accredited in B&H (two Americans even - Jakovic and Galbright), it was clear that the stances will not be tdrawn further apart, and this directly opened a new space for the Government and its comprehensive package of laws drafted in the meanwhile, which are essential for the practical establishment of the Federation. The only thing the deputies and the representatives of the ruling national parties, being the majority in the Assembly, could do to leave some maneuvering space for their parties, was to return the drafted laws. But it is clear that at the very next session of the Parliament scheduled for November 30, these drafts have great chances to become obligatory laws which would definitely be the foundations of the Federation. This also shows why the two parties have hesitated to schedule the Assembly session - primarily because both the Assembly and the Government of the Federation are established legally, and not just formally (ficticiously) as the party centres hoped they would be. This diminishes and invalidates the narrow party agreements between the SDA and the HDZ which, it proved, are better at promoting "village tourism" than mutual relations and the Federation.

Due to everything stated, the next session of the Assembly scheduled for the end of the month could be the definite political turning-point in the relations between the two parties, extracted primarily by democratic and legal forms of policy-making. In other words, this means either establishment of a firm platform for the beginning of true and essential operation of the Federation, or throwing party cards which concealed complete incompetence to establishing any form of peace or joint life.

STRAJO KRSMANOVIC