On behalf of Bosniaks in the United States and Canada, we voice our support for the peaceful protests in front of the Parliament in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Without any specific ethnic or party agenda, the Bosnian citizens are sending a clear message that the inability and unwillingness of Bosnian politicians to provide basic conditions for normal life, including a basic law for issuance of ID numbers, is no longer an acceptable status quo. We are encouraged by the spontaneous nature of these peaceful protests, and hope that this is only the beginning towards a functional and prosperous state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on civic democratic principles, and not on ethnic divisions.
We call upon the international community to voice their support for this democratic process, and to put pressure on the politicians, especially those from the smaller entity, that they can no longer put their own shallow interests before the interests of the Bosnian citizens. We condemn the statements by politicians of the RS entity that this is the end of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because that type of attitude towards the country is exactly how they’ve gotten themselves in this situation. Members of the Parliament must work diligently for a permanent and lasting solution regarding the law on ID numbers, as well as numerous other critical issues that are keeping the country from its path to successful euro-Atlantic integration.
Press release jointly issued by:
The Congress of North American Bosniaks (CNAB)
www.bosniak.org
The Institute for Genocide Research Canada (IGC)
www.instituteforgenocide.org
Bosnian-American Genocide Institute and Education Center (BAGI)
www.baginst.org