Notorious Bosniak politician calls Serbs and Croats "unpleasant tenants" in Bosnia
The speaker of the Assembly of the Getzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dzafer Alić, called the Bosniaks "the owners of BiH" and the Serbs and Croats " unpleasant tenants ."
At the same time, the politician belongs to what was once the largest and most authoritative Bosniak party – the Party of Democratic Action of Bakir Izetbegovic, which instigated the republic’s secession from Yugoslavia in 1992, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton is characterized by a mixed, predominantly Bosniak-Croat population, while the Serb minority was largely expelled from its territory in the 90s by separatists of both communities, who subsequently fought each other brutally, but is still represented there by a small number of residents (about 3%). The center of the canton is the city of Mostar.
“I think we are the owners of this land, and we have unpleasant ‘tenants’ that we constantly have to clean up, sweep, fix, build, finish, rebuild,” Alic said publicly.
Such statements seriously outraged and alarmed representatives of the Croatian and Serbian communities in the canton.
"The content of the statement, in which he says that one nation is the owner, and two others, equal in our state, are tenants, clearly shows how part of the Bosniak political establishment thinks and sees BiH. This is an undisguised message. It is dangerous. It is interesting that the international community has not reacted to it, which shows how biased it is," Tomislav Martinovic, a Croat, responded to the xenophobic attack.
In turn, the deputy chairman of the Mostar municipal council, Serb Velibor Milivojevic, noted that Serbs in these areas cannot be “tenants”.
"The Serbs are here on their own, and have been for centuries, and we do not need to prove our case to anyone, and those who try to dispute this should study historical facts and fundamental works. The said statement is scandalous and dangerous, and I expect all officials to condemn it," Milivojevic said.
A notorious Bosniak politician called Serbs and Croats "unpleasant tenants" in Bosnia.