A nation is only one of the identities we get by birth but the many here turned it into a profession, said Bosnian politician and Sarajevo Mayor candidate, Bogic Bogicevic, stressing that forcing only national identity in multinational countries like Bosnia leads to destruction.

For the many, this is a business opportunity and a way to get rich, said Bogicevic, speaking in N1’s Pressing.

In the wake of Bosnia’s recent local elections, the politician accepted the nomination of the Social Democratic Party to become the Mayor of Sarajevo as a candidate of the coalition which took victory in four of five Sarajevo municipalities.

He had served as Bosnian member of the former Yugoslav Presidency and in that capacity rejected the proposal of the fellow Presidency members from Serbia to impose martial law aimed to introduce military rule in the Yugoslav republics in the early 1990s. His comment: ‘I am a Serb but not by profession’ is often described as fateful.

“For thirty years people are turning the nation into a profession but for the many, that profession means business opportunity and a way to get rich. They forget this is only one of the identities we get by birth. Every person has more than one identity. But this one, the national, is being forced and in multinational countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina it leads to the destruction of the state,” he warned.

Speaking of the changes in the structure of authorities in Sarajevo, following the local elections, Bogicevic said the voters were hopefully electing primarily humans and only then representatives of a nation.

“That’s not a fairy tale, that’s what Sarajevo always was and will always be,” he added.

As for his nomination for the mayoral post, Bogicevic explained the decision to accept it came out of the feeling of responsibility.

“I am free to manage my own life and get infected with coronavirus but I have no right to infect a hundred other people and kill my doctor only because I am irresponsible. Such set of circumstances made me say yes (to the nomination,” he said. “This can be a challenge, and I will be happy if I can contribute to the city and its citizens, at least for a while.”

“This city owes me nothing, we owe it to this city. Europe does,” he underlined.

Divisions in the country are deep, Bogicevic went on, noting that this will last for a while.

“Nationalists and chauvinists do not only hate other peoples, they hate more those among their own people who do not hate the others,” he stressed.

“The time will come when everything will settle down, we will live a life of humans and neighbours in this country, help each other and appreciate all those of goodwill and not extremists, warmongers and those using the hate speech to move forward,” he concluded.