In addition to the fact that BiH was being presented as a state of one (Bosniak) people, Bosniak members of the BiH Presidency Željko Komšić and Šefik Džaferović scandalously called on the West to intervene militarily in BiH, accused Croatia of waging war in BiH and denied the principle of constituent peoples.
Schmidt, and others who were supposed to defend the Dayton Peace Accords and prevent war-mongering rhetoric, silently watched the speakers and also shook hands with them.
„Today, the enemies of our state know that we are not, as the people say, turnips without roots, and that we will be more ready and even more determined for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, to fight again, if we have to. The last thing we want is to fight again, but let both enemies and friends know; an honorable fight for freedom, democracy and human rights is more important to us than undignified peace. It is better to live one day in one's own country and in freedom than to live eternity in someone else's or humiliation“, said Komšić in his war-mongering tirade.
He added that thirty years of attacks on our (Bosniak) state, both inside and outside, are not only a sign of vulnerability, but also a sign of strength and endurance. Schmidt and the others, therefore, watched in silence as the other peoples in BiH were called „internal enemies“.
„Who is for the state of free citizens, individuals, and who is for the corruption terror of narrow circles that feed on the concept of constitutivity and group rights. Who is for the rule of law and who is for the rule of force and crime. Among these enumerated contradictions, I am convinced that we recognize the dominant policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. To the policies and aggressive intentions of these policies, which are obviously outside the democratic-civilizational circle, there must be no indulgence. We are the first to oppose these policies“, said Komšić, introducing additional discord among the constituent peoples in BiH and inciting Bosniaks against Croats and Serbs.
He received thunderous applause from those present for his speech.
Džaferović, on the other hand, said that „the freedom we won was paid dearly“.
„The truth about the period of aggression is written on the pages of international courts. According to the International Court of Justice and the Hague tribunal rulings, the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina was unequivocally characterized as an international armed conflict, in which Serbia and Croatia participated. In these verdicts, they were marked as members of joint criminal enterprises, with the aim of dividing Bosnia and Herzegovina“, Džaferović said.
What Džaferović „forgot“ to mention is that Croatia and its army played a crucial role in stopping the war, which created preconditions to establish peace and sign the Dayton Peace Agreement.
At a time, Bosniak people in Bihać and Žepa would most likely be victims of more mass crimes had it not been for Croatia's army. Knowing and acknowledging this, Alija Izetbegović accepted highest honors and medals immediately after the war, as a sign of deepening friendship, from the very same Croatia who Džaferović nowadays portrays as a malign actor.
Dnevnik.ba