Do B&H Social Democrats Need a Protectorate?

Searching for Dodik for the Federation

AIM Sarajevo, 12 February, 1998

Europe is ruled by Social Democrats - was the slogan with which two social democratic parties in B&H Federation tried to woo their voters. The former League of Communists of Yugoslavia, nowadays called the Social Democratic Party of B&H (SDP) and former Reformists of Ante Markovic, nowadays the Union of B&H Social Democrats (UBSD) rightfully pointed out that the road to Europe was the road they offered. We know the way - the UBSD used to say. But however more successful they may have been in comparison with the previous elections, in September 1996, their results were greatly exceeded by another Social Democrat, Milorad Dodik, so that after him one can rightfully say: Europe and a part of B&H are ruled by Social Democrats.

It seems that what we unprecisely call the international community has decided that in the remaining 51 per cent of B&H (the Federation) power should also be taken by Social Democracy. That is why pressure coming from Europe has increased, in particular from the Socialist Internationale, in order to induce the social democratic forces in B&H to unite, for the beginning in the Federation. The pressure has become so open that High Representative for B&H, Spanish Socialist, Carlos Westendorp, addressed an appeal to the two social democratic parties in the Federation to unite. This is, indeed, a precedent, however hard he tried to justify his deed by saying that he had written the letter as a Socialist, and not as the High Representative for B&H. The fact is that he did address the appeal and offered mediation after the process of rapprochement seemed to have well advanced and after a similar appeal had been written and signed by seventeen intellectuals from Sarajevo, Zenica and Tuzla.

That is when all the differences between the two most powerful opposition parties in the Federation became obvious to the public, which had once before, although in a milder form, escalated when the coalition known as the United List dispersed, which had been formed before 1996 elections and in which the SDP refused to participate a year later. Personal animosity of the leaders and latent conflicts of vanity concerning the question who was more powerful, reached their climax at the moment when it seemed that everything concerning the union had been completed and that issues such as the name of the party and modes of union would indeed be just technical issues. But, it turned out that the SDP with Zlatko Lagumdzija at its head interpreted them as conceptual differences intensifying them to such a degree that they became insurmountable. The main board of the SDP, issued an ultimatum to the UBSD demanding that it declare within seven days whether it would join the SDP with this name and accept the ratio of delegates in the new party of 5:1 (!?) or there would be no union. Of course, this ultimatum was not only welcomed by caricaturists of Sarajevo dailies, but it also made the ruling parties sincerely happy which triumphantly mocked the "collapse of Bosnian perestroika" as this act was characterised by weekly Ljiljan which is close to Izetbegovic. Arguments stated by Lagumdzija in favour of the name SDP for their future joint party, such as that when the river Sava flows into the Danube it loses its name, and that the SDP insisted on the name because of its continuity, are phoney, because since 1909 (since when they claim they exist in continuity!) the SDP changed its name four times, and this continuity, at least in some of the periods such as that of Goli otok (notorious prison from the time of Informbureau) should not do them credit. Members of the SDP claim that because of the name of their party they were "hung on lamp-posts" or "blood was spilt for it"...

The SDP, it should be said, is a party which is ascenting, but except for the mandates won in municipal assemblies, it objectively does not have the power, for example, the UBSD has acquired by winning control of Tuzla in superiorly won elections. The SDP has a heritage from the previous system, contrary to the UBSD, but the UBSD has a spotless reputation and a persistent policy in the past war. It should be kept in miind that cadres from the SDP participated in Izetbegovic's authorities during the war when the army of B&H was (ethnically) cleansed, as well as the police, cadres in the economy, when crimes were committed, etc. At that time, even the SDP admits it, this party was where Izetbegovic recruited his "cadres of other religion", starting from Lagumdzija, Durakovic, Lazovic, Tatjana Ljuic-Mijatovic. Even nowadays, it is still more or less the same, since Bogic Bogicevic is the president of the Olympic committee of B&H, and he was brought to this post by the SDA, when it was removing Stjepan Kljuic from power. It is also true that the SDP also has its old communist cadre which makes it a social-communist party, as Dr Meho Basic, former member of the Main Board of the SDP, said, contrary to the UBSD which has a true social democratic image with numerous non-member sympathisers-intellectuals. After Nijaz Durakovic was removed from the post, the SDP has a young, charming, educated president Zlatko Lagumdzija, but the UBSD has the charismatic Selim Beslagic, and the political fighter, and politically maturing Sejfudin Tokic who is probably the most consistent B&H politician of the past decade.

However, apart from being inconvenient for the SDA which has realised that, after the SDS, now its turn has come, it seems that the union is not convenient for some of the members of the two social democratic parties. Primarily for those who are afraid they might lose their posts in the new party, for those who are close to the ruling party, but also for some old communist cadres who are still strongly influenced... If one followed the line of the words of the SDP dissident, the already mentioned University Professor Meho Basic, Lagumdzija himself does not want the union because, after Silajdzic has used up his charisma, he sees himself as the Bosniac successor to the aging and ailing Izetbegovic, and he has made his party in such a way that he alone has absolute power, which even the communists did not have at their time.

We will not try to guess who and why is opposed to the idea about the union, but being in the position from which it is possible to see and know plenty, it is impossible to avoid the impression that many Social Democrats, at least those who formally belong to one or the other party, simply do not understand the current political situation in B&H, and even less the idea of social democracy. Or perhaps, they consider it less important than their mcurrent position. And the manner in which they like it and are ready to do anything to preserve it, it seems they are aware of their own weakness, uncertainty, and even inferiority. That is why Basic is right when, being a member of the SDP, rejects the ratio of 5:1 in favour of his party, and is in favour of parity in constitution of the new party, because if there is someone who is better that someone else, let him win due to high quality and democratic will of the people. Because those who need the ratio of 5:1 or any other but not parity obviously wish to outvote somebody in the new joint party, with no chances for expanding the idea which is around here obviously still new and politically not defined.

The offered hand of seventeen independent intellectuals who have offered their good services like Westendorp, however undiplomatic it may have been, was received with animosity by the SDP. It is interesting that, apart from it, only the SDA and media close to it have reacted innthis way. However, even that group, but probably also the international community, will continue to do their best to bridge the unnecessary and certainly unreasonable and extremist ultimatum. But it will not be possible to forget easily the qualifications some of the members of the SDP have stated about some of the members of UBSD, that is, the Social Democrats about Sosial Democrats, which have not been said even about extreme rightist and the ruling parties.

Even if this project of the union fails, which is much desired in the Federation, it would be significant not to deepen the gap, it was heard during the repeated meeting with the signatories of the appeal, and to continue with the rapprochement, at least until a coalition was formed which would give hope to the voters before the elections this fall, for the third time in the past three years. Because without social democracy on this side of the inter-entity line in B&H, Dodik's political option would seriously be jeopardised. To what extent the two social democratic spiteful parties are aware of it is the question the answer to which will probably be known by the end of this month. If they united, it was repeated in the talks of UBSD with the signatories of the appeal, and it is something the international community probably counts on, one plus one would equal three. But, as it is, a realistic threat exists that, if the good initiative fails, one pus one will by autumn be less than two.

Zeljko IVANKOVIC

(AIM, Sarajevo)