Tadic Visit Strains Bosnia-Serbia relations

…that Eastern Bosnia is not part nor a colony of Serbia. And the cap he’s using on the photo is the same used by the 90’s “neo-chetniks” to massacre non-Serbs of Bosnia…

This is not comment just for this article. It is a comment in general to the situation developing recently. I ask: What would please Bosniaks? I am a very moderate Serb. I'd like proof, and wherever I got it, like in Srebrenica, I absolutely admit the wrongdoings and actively support persecution of those involved. Not just the top guys, all who participated. In such cases, "I was ordered to.." does not excuse you. Any way... Me being such, what would my friends Bosniaks suggest my "politics" should be? Should I stop supporting any of my politicians? Better yet, maybe abolish RS and make Tihic leader I should trust to look after my interests? Lets forget about the past for just 2 minutes and be practical. What realistically should my attitude be when I look at my two small children. I have never done harm to anyone, and I never will. I wish all the best to all nice people who like to live as good people and good neighbors. But aren't I allowed to look after my children too? Do Bosniaks expect ME and MY CHILDREN to pay for the wrong doings of some war leaders? What about some of the wrongdoings your leaders did? If we go down this path we will never untangle this mess. So, what would please Bosniaks?

The behavior of Serbian president Tadic is gauche and unacceptable. If he is going to visit the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina he should announce an official visit and visit with the political representatives of all the people's of Bosnia not just the Serb politicians in the smaller Bosnian entity. His behavior questions Bosnian sovereignty and should be challenged by all Bosnian officials since it is an offense to Bosnia as a nation. His behavior is unbecoming of a head of state and someone in his cabinet should read up on the etiquette that visiting heads of state are supposed to follow while visiting a foreign country. He has deeply offended the Bosnian people and an apology from him is expected along with him refraining from this incendiary and amateurish behavior in the future.

Now he has revealed his true intentions. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Miki...you are truly one of the better serbs...and I don't think serbs are bad people. I have met a few who are decent good-hearted people like yourself. Miki...no one would ever expect you to stop being proud about being a serb. I am proud about being Bosnian. There is nothing wrong with wanting to teach your children to be proud of where they come from. But it's important to teach them right from wrong...and to be able to judge not by religion or ethnic group...but by character. I know that not every serb thinks like Dodik...but that guy just gets on my last nerve. Teach your children to be proud of who they are but also to see the beauty in other peoples's cultures. Miki...I also want to say...Dodik isn't a friend to serbs. He doesn't care about what happens to people like you who just want to raise their children. He is a narcissist. He is unwilling to see what his hateful words and actions will do to families like yours...you're just collateral damage to him. Your children deserve a better role model. So by all means love the fact that you are serb...and teach that love to your children. But also teach them to love others who are different. God Bless you and your family and I wish the best for you. And I am grateful that there are serbian people like you who are reasonable and fair. That gives me hope when I read some of these depressing articles.

Dear Miki, I really can't say, but judging by the statements from other like-mided fellows I would say: One Bosnia for all, with equal rights for all. Where all its inhabitants can live were they please, worship as they please, travel around and abroad as they please and work at what they are best, without being discriminated against for their religious and ethnic affiliation. Does that suit you? If you are in earnest about Bosniak friends, go talk to them, after all you can now move freely across the country. Maybe you already know some Bosniaks who would be friendly disposed to you. Get together over a cup of coffee and talk things over. If you have never done anybody harm then you really should not be made responsible for the wrongs that were done in the name of Serbdom, and if it were up to me, well, I can tell you that then the lives and well-being of you and your family mean as much to me as the lives and well-being of my Bosniak friends, or my own family. I have a small daughter too in first grade now, I wish only the best for her; how great would it be if our kids got to know each other. How great if your kids make friends with other Bosnian kids, be they Serb, Croat, Bosniak, Roma or Jewish, without looking down on them, nor being looked down upon either. I know that in the past Serb families would invite their Bosniak neighbors and friends fro Easter and Christmas, and that Bosniaks woould invite their Serb neighbors and frfiends for Bajram. How I wish that were so again. Bosnia's cultural richness comes from its different peoples. The sum is greater than the parts. I have Christian friends here and in other countries, and as long as they don't object to or disrespect my professing the Muslim faith I see no reason why I should not respect theirs. I only can't stand people who talk like Radovan Karadzic or Momcilo Krajisnik, or their ideologiocal mentors. I have absolutely no sympathy for those. I offer you my outstretched hand, so please don't clench your fist. The Bosniaks are not going away. Neither I suppose, are the Bosnian Serbs (and why should they?). So, "You have to shake the hand that you can't cut off". The last war was so terrible, people on all sides did terrible things to people of the other side. Whether this was premeditated or spontaneous does not make a difference to the victims. And as for the options the Bosnian Serbs have, go to www.bosnia.org.uk or to the "Dani" website. Look up the two excellent articles by Bojan Bajic' (just type in his name under "search"). Read them. Think about them. Draw your own conclusions. I am not going to say "RS must be abolished, and all its leadership thrown in jail." It is not up to me to decide about that. But please note that at the moment in Cyprus they are talking about reunification (of course I know that will not come overnight.) Nobody must be discriminated against because of his religious beliefs. That would be fascism. Look at what is happening in Iran right now. Young people there are tired of the clerical-fascistoid regime they have, so why introduce something like that in Bosnia at all? Look at Yemen, how the people in Saadah reject the murder of the three nurses (even if they had tried to convince the locals to become Christian. And that in a very conservative Muslim country.) So you see, Muslims are only human beings too. Is there anyplace we can talk? (I don't want to disclose my personal particulars here.) Peace to you, my friend, and kindest greetings. And I really mean it.

Tadic is the one of the few pro-western politicians in the region of former YU, who always advocated in favor of peace and dialogue. I know that this is not in a favor of B-Muslim and K-Albanian nationalists, and that they would like more then anything that Milosevic is still alive and in the seat of power is Serbia, since then they'll have "hard" argumentation about "Serbia's nationalistic politics", and could continue to condemn it and continue to refer to the Serbs as to the "genocidal nation". Unfortunately for them, Milosevic is dead for almost 4 years now. So, the only thing left for them is to try to create new Milosevic out of any consecutive Serb politician. But their efforts are in vain since West has recognized Tadic as a real democratic leader. And that could be backed up with the fact that every western capital is holding its door open for Tadic.

As you can see, you asked very simple question: "So, what would please Bosniaks?" You got two extensive responses, but no answer to you question. Doesn't that telling you something?

I only don't want the same thing that happened in Spain after the conquest of Granada in 1492 and until the expulsion of the last Moriscos in 1614 to happen to the Bosniaks today, even though it is the most cherished goal of the Serbofascists, because that would be a great leap backwards for Mankind. Myself having familiar background in Spain, I feel proud of belonging (at least partly) to a great nation, so I understand that Serbs are proud of their nation (and why should they not? But between that and being arrogant and chauvinist and outright fascist there is a difference!). Yet, every time I come to Granada, or to Yucatan or Peru and see the ruins and reminiscences of the civilizations that were destroyed by the conquistadores I can't but feel great sadness and sympathy for the people who were victim of a stronger aggressor. That is why I feel only despisal and no sympathy whatsoever (and I'm not ashamed of that; any decent person would) for those who said of the Bosniaks "These people will disappear from Earth!" or "they are genetically deformed" and set about realizing that threat, destroyed the Ferhadija, burned the Sarajevo Library, shot the Stari Most to bits, raped 11 or 12-year old girls, burned people inside their houses, killed at least 8.347 people at one single place (and I repeat, the Bosniaks never killed hundreds or thousands of people at a time nor had ever the intention of displacing an entire people, no matter what the denialists say). They, and all those who support them or share their views, should suffer the fate they want for the Bosniaks. And they will never realize their evil scheme. Also for practical reasons. How do they imagine will they force the Bosniaks to comply with their unreasonable demands? How do they think they will reverse the independence of Kosovo? I think they have no idea, they just shout ever so loudly and think then they will be accomodated. Anyway, I am not interested in discussing with them. It is not possible to talk reasonably with those people. Let them keep believing in their own delusions. But if they incite to murder again, they must be silenced.

I think I gave you a concise answer to your question, and so did Lejla. But if you have, as you say, Bosniak friends, get together with them (and with all like-minded Serb or Croat or whatever friends too), and talk things over. Draw your own conclusions and act accordingly. Find other like-minded people who reject war, segregation and gehttoization. Make your voices heard. I wish you well.

Well, what I can see is that the only thing that would please Bosniaks is if Serbs gave them total control of the country. If Serbs allowed themselves to be ruled by Bosniaks and had no say whatsoever in how the country is run and above all DO NOT INSIST THAT THEIR CRIMINALS ARE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE. They don't think that they have any criminals so how dare the Serbs suggest that. There you are. Serbs hand over all the running of the country to them, shut up and take whatever is dished out to them and don't complain. Antifascist and Lejla make a nice speech. I too belive in getting along, but who is going to be in charge? I think I know who they want to be in chage.

Just wait and see. After all, in South Africa it is the native Africans who are now in charge. And has one single white Afrikaner been harmed or disadvantaged because of it? Even though there are many Afrikaners who still say "White men will not be ruled by blacks." But their time is past.

Well, and what about the Bosniaks in the Sandzak in Serbia? To Peggy, it is all right that they are ruled by Serbs, and not only that, they are second-class citizens as well. Just like the Muslims in almost all other Balkan states are. And to Peggy, it is all right that Ratko Mladic is allowed to go free. After all, in her humble opinion every Bosniak who took part in the defense of Bosnia is a criminal, and as long as they are free, why shouldn't Mladic and all his cronies too. On the other hand in Albania there is a Muslim majority (about 70%) and only about 20% Orthodox and 10% Catholics, and nobody objects to that, and they are not being "Ruled " by the Muslims. Bah, say what you will, YOU, Peggy, will not prevent the Bosniaks from getting back what is legitimately theirs, and in that context I remind you again that the country is called Bosnia, not Serbia. You say that Bosnia was never a Muslim country. Oh, but it was. For 400 years it belonged to the Ottoman Empire. And the Ottoman Empire stood 400 years in the Balkans because its majority was Muslim. It could never have stood 400 years by brute force alone. The Soviet Empire stood on brute force alone and it only lasted 70 years. It was only after the Rusians had beaten the Turks in 1878 that the Christians slaughtered and expelled almost all Balkan Muslims from Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece, and left, as Ratko Mladic said "only a folokloric minority", which is even todaymarginalized and underprivileged. In Bosnia this was prevented, which is why it always had a sizable Muslim population. You want to say that it will never be an Islamic Republic. Of course not. Have I ever said that the Bosnian Serbs or Croats must be excluded from political participation? I have NOT! The only thing that must be excluded is separatism and fragmentation. And why should the Bosniaks try to implement a system like the Iranian one, which is completely alien to them, and of which the Iranians are fed up, as the ongoing events show? Just because the Serb propagandists say that Izetbegovic said so in his Islamic Declaration? This is a lie. I have read it very carefully and nowhere does it say or imply that an Islamic Republic with Sharia law (which would be applicable only to Muslims anyway) and marginalization, ghettoization and exile of the non-Muslims should be established in Bosnia. Here again, the Greater Serb propagandists blame the other side of what their own side did.

Yeah, according to peggy and all other such luminaries of mankind, EVERYONE who ever dared raise his hand against the Serbs, even if it was in self-defense, is a criminal and should be hanged, or locked up forever. And then you object when I have the same opinion of you? And let me put you straight, I have NEVER said that non-Muslims in Bosnia must be excluded from political participation. But those who are against Bosnia, must be banished.