News in English     | 09.05.2021. 23:30 |

Circle 99: Where has ethnonationalism brought us and where do we go from here?

FENA Press release

SARAJEVO, May 9 (FENA) - President of the Association of Independent Intellectuals "Circle 99" Adil Kulenović at today's session on the topic "Where has ethnonationalism brought us and where do we go from here?", said that the appeal issued a few days ago by civil society organizations in the region to the EU, the US, NATO member states, entitled "Unsuccessful consolidation of the Balkan countries - face it!", diagnoses in the best way the turbulences in the region, but also defines the expected measures and procedures in order for peace and democratic development to be realistically possible.

"Not only in the Balkans, but in Europe as a whole. Especially since the last ethno-nationalist attacks on the Balkan countries came from the auspices of some EU members. And they very much deal with Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is even today destined to be a pawn in the game of greater-state aspirations and ambitions.

One-fifth of the signatories of the Appeal are members of Circle 99, and that speaks of our attitude towards all the ideas expressed in the text, stated Kulenović.

Introductory speaker Sonja Biserko, founder and president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, one of the authors of the idea and the text of the appeal, said that the Balkans is now at a stage when a positive approach to the future is needed and in anticipation of a more significant US and European engagement.

"I think we need to deal with this with new proposals and new initiatives to be as active as possible because it is not possible to arrange things only from the outside but it must have significant support from within in each of these countries. Of course, in order for all this to be possible, it is necessary to make a clear insight into the course where we are today," said Biserko.

She added that the process of ethno-nationalization of society is becoming dominant in all post-Yugoslav societies. This means that society as a whole is treated as the property of the dominant ethnicity, contrary to expectations that post-Yugoslav societies would strive for democratization. They largely accepted the authoritarianism of the new political elites.

"After the Balkans has become the scene of geostrategic outsmarting, certain circles again want the recomposition of the Balkans. Numerous non-papers that are circulating more and more often speak in favor of that," warned Biserko.

Of course, Serbia is a significant factor in the stability or instability of the region, and that is why its fixation on the nation-state that will unite all Serbs is still topical and is the main obstacle to the consolidation of the region and Serbia itself.

As long as this is the case, its relationship with Europe and the closest neighbors will remain problematic," Biserko pointed out.

She said that it is necessary, in anticipating the US and the European Union to start completing the unfinished in the Balkans, for all civic forces, parties and movements to unite on the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to put at the forefront social and class issues.

"The dominance of ethno-nationalist priorities hides the essence of the problem of Bosnia and Herzegovina and new coalitions are needed that will get the legitimacy from the citizens. A new social contract is needed," said in the introductory speech Sonja Biserko.

She concludes with an opinion that the European Union must define a road map for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Union must single out Bosnia and Herzegovina in view of the continuous interference of neighboring countries.

"In that sense, Bosnia and Herzegovina should get the status of an associate member or some special arrangement with the European Union as soon as possible. It is a moral obligation towards Bosnia and Herzegovina because the international community is also responsible for its human and material devastation during the four years of war because it was not willing to stop it in time," said the founder and president of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia Sonja Biserko.

(FENA) S. R.

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