Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina said it shared the concern of its members regarding the latest decisions and statements by international peace envoy Christian Schmidt, singling out his remark that “the Bosniaks live here and should live” as worrying because, according to the Islamic Community, this suggests that someone should give the Bosniaks the right to live in their own country.

“The survival of the Bosniaks as a people and of Bosnia and Herzegovina do not depend on will of anyone else but themselves and the citizens and peoples who live in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Saying in public that the Bosniaks have ‘the right to live’ points at a justified concern of a great number of the believers expressed in communication with their imams, who recognised in that the disputing of their not only political subjectivity but also their mere survival, especially if we take into account that it is about a people who survived genocide,” the Islamic Community said.

The statement also said it was important that the Islamic Community warns about such processes.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina needs European values and standards if it wants to become part of a united Europe, and any deviation from that, whether in constitutional solutions, civil and human rights, or even in the public communication of officials, is not welcome,” it added.