Bosnian intellectuals call protest, warn of “new political siege”

At a session held on May 24, titled “How can BiH emerge from the new political siege?”, speakers Enver Halilovic, Fuad Djidic and Krug 99 president Adil Kulenovic said the country was at a historic turning point.

Diplomat and author Fuad Djidic compared the current situation to the suffocation of Bosnia’s democratic and state institutions.

Djidic said that Bosnia’s institutions had been pushed into blockade and that decisions were being made without Bosniaks.

He warned that the crisis was not a military siege, but a “political siege” aimed at weakening the internationally recognised state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to Djidic, the key struggle concerns state property, natural resources, water and energy, and could culminate at the upcoming Peace Implementation Council session in early June.

Former rector and professor Enver Halilovic accused outgoing High Representative Christian Schmidt of assisting secessionist and separatist policies through inaction and previous decisions, including changes to election rules and intervention in the formation of the Federation entity government after the 2022 elections.

Krug 99 president Adil Kulenovic criticised what he said were attempts within parts of the international community to reduce the powers of the High Representative and relativise rulings of Bosnia’s Constitutional Court.

“This is not reform - it is the withdrawal of international protection at a moment when separatism and ethno-territorial divisions are more aggressive than at any time since the end of the war,” Kulenovic said.

Krug 99 called on citizens, regardless of political affiliation, to join peaceful protests on June 1 at 6 p.m. in front of the OHR building in Sarajevo.

The group’s demands include preserving the current powers of the High Representative, full implementation of Constitutional Court rulings, and firm opposition to any attempt at territorial division or transfer of state powers to the entities, particularly regarding state property, territory and borders.