KEEP YOUR WORD, SUBMIT YOUR RESIGNATION!

Vladimir Srebrov: Open letter to Alija Izetbegovic

Sarajevo, 17 February, 1997 (AIM)

Vladimir Srebrov, independent candidate in '96 September elections, addressed an open letter to Alija Izetbegovic, President of Presidency of B&H in which, among other, he says:

Mister Izetbegovic,

I believe that you are a man true to his word, and that you will keep the promise given to the public in writing (on 14 January this year) about your withdrawal from the post of the President of the Presidency of B&H, if the city of Brcko should not become an integral part of the federation.

After the statement of the decision of the Arbitration Committee for this town, chaired by Owen (on 15 February this year), it has become clear that Brcko remained part of Republica Srpska and that under "far-fetched" conditions from the mentioned decision, citizens of this town (the Bosniacs and the Croats), banished in ethnic cleansing in 1992, will never return to it.

Pursuant the American diplomatic vocabulary, "Brcko D.C." means definite and slow withering away of the country of B&H (if its citizens in the future do not decide otherwise), it also means its official political division into three national ghettoes with gloomy prospects for the territory of B&H to become integral parts of the Republic of Croatia and FR Yugoslavia.

Agreement to the solution for Brcko to become a "D.C.", meant also agreement to re-evaluation of the meaning of the past war: by current dismemberment of B&H into three national ghettoes, it cannot be considered to have been a defensive war any more, which it was according to its designations, but a civil war. After all this is the long-range political background of Owen's decision amd justification of the decision which resulted from Cornbloom's words.

Efforts of large powers to praclaim that the past war was a civil war gives them the right to initiate talks in the foreseeable future on the highest diplomatic level with the official authorities of the Republic of Croatia and FR Yugoslavia on division of B&H, and on giving the Bosniac people special status within these states. "Brcko D.C." is the first official diplomatic step towards effectuation of this intention.

Mister Izetbegovic, your representative, Ejup Ganic, took part in these dishonourable foul dealings conceived as described. And by agreeing to the decision of the Tribunal, you supported him and publicly said so in front of television cameras, to the citizens of Bosnia & Herzegovina!

This, Mister Izetbegovic, is called - treason!

With the act of reception of Brcko as the so-called "special district", you have not betrayed only the banished citizens of Brcko who have trusted you and voted for you and your party - you have betrayed citizens of Bosnia & Herzegovina who in 1992 rose to defend the city of Sarajevo and multi-religious B&H.

With your disorderly and inefficient state administration, Mr Izetbegovic, you have betrayed all your words uttered during the war with which you advocated "indivisible Bosnia & Herzegovina in which all the people will have equal rights", "future civic state in the European comunity of nations", "B&H as the forerunner of democracy in the Balkans". And the worst that you could do, you betrayed yourself and your own charisma. I hope that you are aware of it.

Mister Izetbegovic, for that kind of betrayal there is no pretext - there is only the court and criminal prosecution!

In this context, it is time you submitted resignation to the post you are at. And not only you! All your associates headed by Ejup Ganic should also submit resignation, but so should the president of the Arbitration Committee for Brcko from the Federation. In short: resignation should be submitetd by all the officials at the top of the Federation who have manifested their political immaturity and expressed this political stance not only on the example of Mostar, but now on the example of Brcko as well.

In democratic countries, and you claim that the Federation is a democratic creation, after approximately similar resignation, everything is transferred into the competence of the judiciary.

In connection with this, I will remind you of our national saying: "Better grave than slave!" - it is said in the end of the statement of Vladimir Srebrov.