All three highest levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, i.e. the central authorities of BiH and the authorities of both entities - the Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH - strongly and unreservedly support the American action against terrorism. Immediately after the start of the attack on Afghanistan, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina came out with the agreed position that the action was inevitable and that the USA has the full support of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Chairman of the Council, Zlatko Lagumdžija, said unequivocally that the country, that is, its authorities, has no doubts that the fight, even a military one, against terrorism is inevitable and that the Taliban regime made moves that resulted in these extreme measures.
That this support is not only verbal is best demonstrated in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in the part with a Bosniak majority, where the federal police arrested and deported dozens of foreigners or naturalized BiH citizens from Islamic countries. The head of the Mujahideen community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Abu Hamza, looking back on the current situation in the country, said that due to the behavior of the international community and the humble authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Arabs have become prey that is not protected by any laws. Even the Helsinki Committee of Bosnia and Herzegovina expressed concern about the behavior of the police, because there were examples of people being arrested without grounds, after which the police and the media declared them terrorists. What is problematic is that some of them were released after a day or two with the explanation that it was just a check or a mistake. However, the sewn "label" of terrorists will follow them both in the West and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
HEAVY MORTGAGE: In the background of such harsh measures are state efforts to free BiH from the heavy mortgage of being a country that gives refuge to Islamic extremists. These accusations, made by the US administration, were not unfounded because some police actions really exposed persons who could somehow be "connected" to international terrorist activities, and even be linked to Osama bin Laden himself. The real basis for such a connection is the fact that there are 420 naturalized citizens from Islamic countries living in Bosnia and Herzegovina who received BiH passports thanks to the fact that they fought in the war on the Bosniak side and then married Bosnian women. Also, about 500 of them, mostly Arabs, reside in BiH and work mainly in various private and humanitarian organizations.
Never in Bosnia and Herzegovina has there been so much agreement by representatives of the highest authorities from all parts and all nationalities about future political and police action as after September 11, that is, the attack on the USA. Members of the BiH Presidency and Government, entity presidents as well as their prime ministers determined a series of measures that should effectively include BiH among the countries fighting terrorism. It was ordered to check all citizenships granted during the war and post-war period, control of foreign humanitarians in BiH and bank accounts of humanitarian organizations as well as companies for which there are indications that they could be involved in organized crime or helping terrorists. As a logical continuation of these activities, a meeting of the state and police leadership with the International Military Forces (SFOR) was held, where the so-called a partnership that includes joint military-police actions against terrorists. Even the initiative to create a joint anti-terrorist police force at the state level came from the newly established coordination committee for the fight against terrorism. If that were to happen, it would be the first time that the representatives of all nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina agreed to form a common armed formation, which shows that only an enemy outside the borders of the Balkans can unite the country.
WIDE SALE: The information from the top of the federal police sounded very spectacular (but also speculative) that in mid-October a group of 70 Bin Laden's followers was supposed to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that thanks to the cooperation of domestic and foreign intelligence services, this attempt was foiled. Just a day before, the police exposed a group of arms smugglers who were arming Albanians in Kosovo and Macedonia. Members of the police were also involved in the whole business, which gives the case additional weight. The American representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina expressed their special satisfaction with this action, who after the terrorist attacks in America consider any smuggling of weapons as potentially dangerous for their security.
However, the most significant actions took place in the second half of last month. In a well-planned operation, Bensajah Belkasem Mezhd, a BiH citizen of Sudanese origin, who is claimed to be an associate of Osama bin Laden's first officer, was arrested. This is already the second person with a Bosnian passport who is most directly associated with the world's most wanted terrorist. Mehrez Audoni, whom Interpol claims is a close associate of Bin Laden, was arrested in Turkey last year. Just a few days later, anonymous threats to the American and British embassies in Sarajevo followed, after which they were closed. However, the very next day, the police announced that they had arrested two people of Algerian origin whom they found to have sent threats. One is a humanitarian worker of the High Saudi Committee, while the other is a classic criminal who was already sentenced to five years in prison, but was pardoned at the time by the president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ejup Ganić (!). In the further investigation, three more people were arrested and the existence of the so-called Algerian group was reconstructed, which, according to the police, was not connected to Bin Laden but represented a terrorist threat to Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially to its international staff.
SFOR and even agents of the American FBI are directly or indirectly involved in all these actions, which shows that the American fight against terrorism is comprehensive and that, in addition to the military action in Afghanistan, it probably extends to all other countries where people of the Islamic religion live. .
RESIGNATION: This cooperation with the Western international community was paid for by the first man of the federal police, Muhamed Bešić, who was forced to resign at the insistence of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina, a member of the ruling coalition. Although Bešić did not want to explain why the former party of Haris Silajdžić demanded his dismissal, the almost unanimous opinion of the public is that the reason is Bešić's fierce confrontation with the Islamists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was not spared even the native Bosnians who were connected to the Arab-Islamist elements in Bosnia and Herzegovina. . The Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was previously in a coalition with Izetbegović's SDA, which is most responsible for bringing Islamists to Bosnia, probably could not endure such a radical confrontation with the war legacy led by the long-time communist, now SDP member, Bešić. International representatives in Bosnia reacted fiercely, threatening that Bosnia and Herzegovina will face sanctions if it does not continue this type of fight against terrorism. Although Bešić did not withdraw his resignation, the federal government announced that there is no question of its dealing with people who were tolerated by the former government, and the wave of arrests continued.
Although the authorities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina respond very concretely to the calls of the USA to deal with extreme Islamists, there is a certain amount of opposition to such actions among Bosniaks. Both the international community and the domestic authorities are reproached for trying too aggressively and radically to distance themselves from Islam, while the fact that Karadžić and Mladić, also terrorists, are still at large in BiH itself is tolerated. Such accusations especially come from the now opposition SDA, which constantly emphasizes its opposition to terrorism, but also reproaches America for the intervention "in which the victims are civilians".
NA FOREIGN TALIBAN: However, there are those in Bosnia who are on the side of the Taliban and Bin Laden. These are mainly groups and organizations that were connected with the Arabs in BiH and that accepted Wahhabi teachings. The police recently arrested two Sarajlians who were pasting posters supporting the Taliban and calling for jihad. Graffiti glorifying the known terrorist has even appeared in some high schools. Although these groups are a distinct minority within the Bosniak national corps, they cause discomfort to the international community and are the reason for the construction of many media sensations, some of which have no basis.
Recently, Austrian parliamentarian Peter Schider stated that he saw a joint photo of Alija Izetbegović and Bin Laden taken during the war in Bosnia. The claim was maliciously used by all the media in the area of the former Yugoslavia and Europe. Alija Izetbegović persistently insisted that the picture, if it exists, should be published. When that did not happen, the Austrian embassy in Sarajevo sent a statement dissociating itself from this parliamentarian's statement, which the SDA and Izetbegović interpreted as clear evidence of false accusations. However, although they are probably right in this case, the fact remains that so far two persons with BiH passports have been discovered for whom Interpol has evidence that they are connected to Osama bin Laden. The wartime association with such people is the reason for the heavy mortgage on Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the Bosniaks, for which the then ruling SDA is responsible.
However, the settlement with that mortgage is ongoing.
