The resolution served them once again to present almost the entire world as enemies and to say, like angry children: Look, we would like to be friends, but they won't be with us. Even though the situation is completely reversed, said the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Mioković, in an interview with the newspaper "Nova", speaking about the All-Serbian Assembly in Belgrade, which was organized by Aleksandar Vučić and Milorad Dodik.
He also said what he thought about Dodik's "threats" about the secession of Republika Srpska, and he also spoke about Patriarch Porfiri and the obvious support he gives to the authorities in Belgrade and Banja Luka.
"From what I've seen him do so far, he's far from impressed me, and on several occasions he's disappointed me," says Mioković.
You talked about the fact that you did not receive an invitation to the First All-Serbian Parliament, which was held in Belgrade last Saturday. I assume you sent it off. How did it all look to you as an observer?
It was as I supposed. Another performance by the political leaders of Republika Srpska and Serbia, primarily Aleksandar Vučić and Milorad Dodik, with the aim of consolidating their positions in power. Using various strategies, twisting the facts and the very meaning of politics, they are trying to create a situation in which the Serbian people are there because of them, and not that they are in power because of that people, as it should be. Nothing was adopted that would improve inter-ethnic and inter-state relations in the region, nothing was adopted that would improve the quality of life of the Serbs themselves. On the contrary, some conclusions sink deeper into the scum of nationalism, thanks to which the Serbs suffered, quarreled, isolated themselves and became impoverished. I sincerely deeply regret that this is the case, knowing the potential that the Serbs and Serbia themselves have, as well as all of us in the region, to be among the most advanced nations and countries in the world, but I believe that it is not too late to use them.
The official reason for organizing this assembly is the adoption of the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica by the UN General Assembly. In your opinion, what is the real reason, and what is the goal of Aleksandar Vučić and Milorad Dodik?
The goal is the extreme isolationism of the Serbs with the creation of the appearance of their supposed desire to be open to everyone, but they cannot because others do not want to have anything to do with the Serbs. Therefore, they are leading Serbia and the Serbs into isolation, within which only the aforementioned politicians and their ideology have unlimited power and the ability to draw all possible resources for their benefit. As we know, all autocratic regimes operate in the same way and if they unite, they unite with each other, never with the liberal and progressive part of the world. The resolution served them once again to present almost the entire world as enemies and to say, like angry children: Look, we would like to be friends, but they won't be with us. Although the situation is completely reversed, the Resolution opened the possibility for the political leaders of the Serbs to remove all the ballasts of the past and to join the progressive trends of civilization.
Do you think that Dodik will do anything about the "peaceful separation" of Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina?
They won't do anything. I personally think that if anyone from the Federation of BiH came to meet him, Dodik would be taken aback and would look for a way to forget his offer. Of course, no one will meet him, because these are political ideas in the range of dystopia. Republika Srpska cannot be an independent state, it has no historical, geostrategic or geopolitical, not to mention the economic potential for such a thing. To be honest, I do not believe that the people of RS themselves would be in favor of the option of disunification, because they are very well aware that there can be no peaceful disunification and that such attempts would easily lead to conflict. Even Serbia itself would not recognize some kind of independent Republika Srpska. What is easily forgotten in this whole story is the fact that Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats are constitutive in the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even if no Bosniaks or Croats live in the Republika Srpska, and there are plenty of them, even if all Serbs are in favor of unification, and there are not enough of them, it could not secede as long as any Bosniaks, Croats or Serbs believe that this violates the constitutionality of his people. Therefore, the name Republika Srpska is confusing because it seems as if the Serbs have some kind of monopoly over that territory, but that is not the case - it is politically, legally, and culturally and historically just as much Bosniak and Croatian as it is Serbian, just as it is The Serbian Federation to the extent that it is Bosniak and Croatian. However, there is no doubt that one should be careful and watch carefully what he does, because he is in an unenviable situation, and people in such situations are often ready for anything. But, if he tries anything that threatens the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and peace, it will be solved in the shortest possible time.
One gets the impression that the focus from Kosovo, which has long served the authorities in Serbia to raise tensions in society, as well as the rating of Aleksandar Vučić, has been transferred to the Republika Srpska. Does it look like that to you?
I think that the current situation and the Resolution on Srebrenica contributed to that impression. It will never happen, even when Serbia recognizes Kosovo's independence, that the focus of Serbian nationalist politics will be shifted from Kosovo to some other territory. If Šumadija were to declare independence, the focus would again be more on Kosovo. Because Kosovo is a myth, a symbol, a rhetorical device, a means of voter homogenization, etc. However, there is no doubt that it is beneficial to Vučić that for a few days a year he does not have to respond to the increasingly visible failures of his policy regarding Kosovo, above all to those concerning the life of Serbs in Kosovo, because until now the Serbs could have been a very integrated community in the newly formed state. and live better than they live under the supposed protection of Serbia. Also, Dodik likes to create the illusion that Republika Srpska has the status of Kosovo in the eyes of the Serbs, but that is impossible.
As a Serb who lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina and performs a very important function in that country, what do you think of Belgrade's attitude towards Serbian citizens living in the former republics of Yugoslavia?
Belgrade is a big city, often with open arms to everyone, regardless of their worldview, I would rather talk about the attitude of the authorities in Serbia towards the Serbs. Ever since the beginning of the eighties, less than a year after Tito's death, louder cries could be heard about Serbia being the country of all Serbs in Yugoslavia. The attempt to achieve this through war had the effect that Serbia partially achieved this, and in such a way that the Serbs had to flee to Serbia with the withdrawal of the Serbian army from other republics and Kosovo. And that was an unfortunate, tragic experience both for others and for the Serbs themselves. Even today, Serbia is behaving in such a way that it is emptying other countries of Serbs with its policy, instead of influencing the affirmation of their life in other countries and creating an image of Serbs as good workers, artists, athletes, scientists, neighbors, that every country they live in is for them parent company and to participate in its construction as in the construction of their own house.
And how does the life of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina look like?
Life in Bosnia and Herzegovina is equally difficult for everyone. However, not everyone is equally to blame for the difficulty of that life, nor does everyone work equally to improve the quality of that life. Here's just one example, so I don't go deep into the past. Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to 1,8 billion euros from the EU growth plan for the Western Balkans. In order for the first part of those funds to be paid into the state budget, that budget needs to be adopted, and that is being blocked by the politics personified by Milorad Dodik. Do you know what that money means to everyone, including Serbs? First of all, they mean staying, and Dodik's policy means that there are fewer and fewer of us all, including Serbs, in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the end, a great role in the whole story about the assembly and the "gathering of the Serbs" was played by the patriarch Porfirije. How do you see his role like this? Has he sided with the current government in Belgrade?
I have no doubt that it is very difficult to extricate the Serbian Orthodox Church from the clutches of politics, but I must admit that I had higher expectations from Patriarch Porfiri. Even if he could not influence the change of the Serbian policy towards others, he could have pointed out the hypocrisy of that policy towards the Serbs, towards his flock. If he could not influence the acceptance of the Resolution on Srebrenica among the Serbs, he could at least tell the Orthodox Christians that, if nothing else, it is a Christian and human duty to enable everyone to be buried with dignity. In this sense, he could, and still can, invite the faithful if they know how to say, even if it is an anonymous tip, where the mass and individual war graves are. He would have done a lot for the Serbs, and especially for the families who are still searching for the bones of their loved ones. From what I've seen him do so far, he's far from impressed me, and he's disappointed me on several occasions.
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