I must say that the international mediators are really making great efforts to reach a common solution. At this moment, I do not want to be pessimistic, but I do not have any good news that the views of, conditionally speaking, the Croat and Bosniak blocs are any closer. Fahrudin Radončić, President of the Alliance for a Better Future of B&H, said this today in Sarajevo, after a meeting in the building of the EU Delegation with Matthew Palmer and Angelina Eichhorst.
Negotiations on changes to the Election Law, which are attended by Dragan Čović, the president of the HDZ, and Bakir Izetbegović, the president of the SDA, have been going on in the EU building since this morning.
- We have a too complicated situation in FB&H. You don't have to be very enthusiastic that such difficult topics, which last for ten years, can end with a few meetings. What is very important, it seems to me that both Mr. Izetbegović and Mr. Čović show maximum interest in reaching a compromise. At this point, that compromise is still a long way off. When it comes to the election of members of the Presidency of B&H, I continue to advocate an indirect way in the Parliament, that would be very relaxing for the whole story. There would be no floating, no district or canton, we would avoid allusions of the third entity, but I think that the negotiations are ongoing and we should cheer for them to succeed - said Radončić.
He added that B&H was created in Dayton, two entities, three peoples and others.
- Me, Fahrudin Radončić, did not invent that constitutivity, it is the Dayton category. In the end, the late President Alija Izetbegović got that in 2000, based on his appeal before the Constitutional Court, that constitutionality must be respected. I believe it relaxes relationships. B&H is a state of three peoples, we should do everything to make everyone feel comfortable. I really want to believe that politicians who seek compromise wish good to all nations. That they will gain an advantage over those who win elections with cheap, populist quarrels and war-mongering rhetoric. This is my belief and I am not ashamed of it. I think that is the only future of B&H - said the leader of SBB.
When asked if an asymmetric solution is possible, Radončić answered:
- We cannot agree to an asymmetric solution for at least two reasons. We can hypothetically observe the situation. You will get a member of the Presidency from the Republic of Srpska within 24 hours, but until the houses of the peoples of the Federation and Bosnia and Herzegovina are constituted, it may take months. Furthermore, members of the same body cannot have different electoral legitimacy and be elected in different ways, so an asymmetric solution, as far as SBB and other political parties, including the SDA, is concerned, is not acceptable.
The journalists were interested in the details of the conversation behind closed doors, and Radončić said that he could not reveal more details.
- Well, the problem is, to be honest, the whole package. First, what is a good result of these talks, I think that both Mr. Čović and Mr. Izetbegović agreed that their parties vote to raise election standards and that there will be no more election theft if the SNSD agrees. If SNSD and Mr. Dodik do not agree to that, then it means that they declare themselves as thieves in the elections. I think it's an already agreed thing. You have three sets of difficult questions, these are the election of a member of the Presidency, the houses of the people, etc., the technical standard of election. I believe that the result will still be shown, if not during this visit, certainly the next one - said Radončić.
When asked by journalists to comment on yesterday's session of the House of Peoples of the B&H Parliament, ie the vote of HDZ delegates to annul Inzko's law on genocide denial, the SBB leader said:
- It’s not okay to reveal what I heard in private, that Croatian votes were given to SNSD in the best intention to preserve SNSD in the negotiation process, and not because HDZ wants to be a partner to SNSD and Dodik. The HDZ knew that this could practically not pass yesterday, they raised their hands more because they wanted to keep the SNSD as part of the agreement, and not as part of the problem.
