Former member of the Presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and former mayor of Sarajevo, sociologist Ivo Komsic, commented on the recent All-Serb Assembly held in Belgrade during the Pressing show on N1. He stated that the assembly is proof that the Serbian national policy has failed.

“People seek what they don’t have. Politicians mostly talk about things they cannot fulfill. This is how politics is conducted here—it’s not based on real needs, facts, or hopes. They live in their own world and manipulate citizens with their ideas. Citizens are confused; I must say that the media also somewhat confuse them. There are some issues and politicians who spread a psychosis of fear and uncertainty. I would never put them in the media. Some should not be given importance, but rather the importance they deserve in the global, real situation, not in this hybrid one they produce,” said Ivo Komsic at the beginning of the show.

“This has been going on for 30 years; it’s not from yesterday. This is just the final phase of that policy. For 30 years, globally, nationalist policies in BiH have been deceiving our citizens and constantly speaking on their behalf. The problem is that this now comes from neighboring countries.”

When asked if the Declaration of the All-Serb Assembly signifies that Vucic is taking over Milosevic’s role, he said:

“Yes. When I say Serbs, I immediately clarify that I mean Vucic, Dodik, and their supporters. I don’t mean Serbs as a people as a whole. They are leading these processes. I think we need to look at these things a bit above daily politics,” he emphasized.

He added that the assembly is an indicator of the state of national policy.

“It doesn’t help us if we now focus on the Declaration. We need to put both into the context in which they are happening. They themselves labeled the Assembly as a historic event. Some said the Assembly was convened to determine the paths of the Serbian people as a whole. Now they include those Serbs in Australia, America, and New Zealand. The Declaration reflects political unitarism and political monopoly. The political unitarism that is the foundation of the Declaration shows the state of the policy led by these two.”

Komsic explained that Vucic and Dodik are aware that the Serbian national policy has completely failed.

“If we objectively observe the Assembly, it shows that the Serbian national policy has completely failed and has no chance. They are aware of this, which is why the All-Serb Assembly was convened. They need to explain something to the Serbian people outside the institutions. Who convenes assemblies as non-institutional events? The ruling establishment never does that.

The Assembly is a non-governmental organization. Why is the government doing this when it has all the state mechanisms to implement all 49 points written in the Declaration?”

He compared the current Serbian national policy to Slobodan Milosevic’s project.

“The Serbian national policy has completely failed. It has been formed over several centuries, starting with the basic idea that Serbia must inherit the borders of the Ottoman Empire. This project was realized through the Balkan wars, then through the communist regime, and finally, Milosevic realized it in the 1990s. It is the same project. That project has failed, and they are aware of it.”

“I analyzed the national composition of the SKJ in 1989. Serbs made up 70 percent, Muslims 20 percent, and Croats about 10 percent. The KP was in power; those who had 70 percent in the party had 70 percent in the state. That state collapsed at the 14th Congress of the party that had all the power,” Komsic said.

“Milošević first tried to revive this project, leading to crimes and genocide. They lost Kosovo, in Montenegro they are a national minority, and in BiH they don’t have their own state. The Serbian national project has completely failed. Today, that term is replaced with the euphemism ‘Serbian world.’ This is the ‘Serbian world.’ The Declaration mentions what they don’t have. They are aware that the Serbian national project has failed. That’s why the Assembly is held, to guide the people on what awaits them in the future. There is no realization of a Serbian state; Serbia is reduced to a principality,” he concluded.

“Americans have their interests here”

Komsic also recalled the negotiations to stop the war in BiH.

“At that time, the West had no interest in BiH. I was in almost all the negotiations about BiH. Who led the negotiations? The UN and European establishment, they led the negotiations. From the Cutileiro plan, all negotiations aimed to divide BiH, which was proof that the entire international community supported the division of BiH. They divided until the Americans accepted our domestic plan to stop the war with a new project,” he said, adding:

“I sat at the table with those people, and they were completely on Milosevic’s and Tudjman’s side. They wanted the division of BiH, and didn’t care about the suffering of the people here.”

He added that the situation is now different.

“Now it’s different. Americans have their interests here; Serbia is completely isolated. Counting on Putin won’t help them. The West now has mechanisms to bring order within 24 hours if they want to and if their interests are threatened,” he said, adding:

“The specific goal is for us to join the EU, accept European standards, and join NATO. NATO, according to the Dayton Agreement, keeps peace in BiH.”