Bosnia and Herzegovina’s multicultural identity must be a bridge not a boundary, says Bosnian President Komšić

Oxford: Speaking to a packed audience in Oxford, President Željko Komšić has made an impassioned call for his country to reject sectarian divisions in favour of a citizen-led democracy within the European family of nations. Hosted by Oxford’s Centre for Islamic Studies and organised by UK charitable initiative Remembering Srebrenica, the President’s lecture commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Dayton agreement which ended the Bosnian war.

In his speech, President Komšić argued that Bosnia and Herzegovina stands at a crossroads. He said that while the Dayton Agreement rightly brought an end to three and a half years of bloodshed and reaffirmed the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country must move beyond the constitutional framework which Dayton created and which divided political representation on a formula based on country’s different ethnic groups.

President Komšić argued that to build a sustainable future for his country, democracy must be built on citizenship with political equality and human rights guaranteed for all its people with the rule of law at its heart within the European family of nations. His vision stands in marked contrast with sectarian messages being promoted today by extremist nationalist politicians who are once again stirring up ethnic tensions in the country.

Drawing on centuries of history in which Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a ‘meeting point of civilisations’, he said: “Our challenge is to ensure that identity regains its rightful role as a bridge rather than a boundary, a source of moral and cultural richness rather than a weapon in the hands of politics.”

The President will also be speaking again in Birmingham today at the invitation of the Bosnia and Herzegovina UK Network to mark Statehood Day.

Richard Burden, Director of Remembering Srebrenica UK said today:

“Remembering Srebrenica UK was honoured to host President Komšić in Oxford. We are deeply grateful to the Centre for Islamic Studies and the Bosnia and Herzegovina UK Network for enabling us to do so. President Komšić’s words about his vision for the future of his country were both timely and inspirational. His core message chimes powerfully with Remembering Srebrenica’a own motto ‘Remember Yesterday, Act Today’.

We must never forget the horrors that genocide inflicted on the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s and the dangers that the spread of hate continues to pose. But President Komšić is also right to remind us that different cultural identities can be a source of strength for societies rather than a recipe for division. That is an important message for us here in the UK as well as for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”