AJANOVIC: There is no split. The Party for Bosnia-Hercegovina is essentially a homogenous party, as 99 percent of active members support the policy of the Executive Committee, led by president Silajdzic.
Nonetheless, it is obvious that there are conflicts within the party?
That has to do with only two to three men who have been joined by some journalists. They, with assistance of some international officials, are making problems where there are none. Almost two weeks ago I asked for a vote of confidence from the Cantonal Council of SBiH and out of 27 present members of the council, 26 gave me their support.
Who are the opponents then?
I would rather not mention the names of all of them. The public already knows that they include Dzevad Galijasevic from Maglaj and Tarik Kapidzic from Zenica.
Who is the third one?
I would rather not mention his name at his point.
How long have you been the acting president of the Cantonal Council of SBiH?
For a year.
Why hasn't a new president of the council been elected during that period?
I have been criticized because of that, but that is not my fault. The assembly, which elected the bodies of the Council elected Fuad Smailbegovic for the president, and elected me for the first deputy president for a mandate of four years. The statute of the party specifies that if the president of the party leaves for any reason, then the first deputy becomes president. After Smailbegovic's death I did not want to automatically assume the new function but requested from the Cantonal Council to take a stand. However, at the meetings of municipal councils and the central leadership it was specified that members of the executive commission should not be elected, including a new president, as the statute of the party is supposed to be changed. Therefore, no one should criticize me for still being the acting president of the Cantonal Council.
You have also been criticized for the fact that out of six members of SBiH in the Cantonal assembly, none of them are from Zenica? The same applies for candidates for the Chamber of Nations of the Bosnian Parliament.
Alija Kulenovic was the first name on the list of candidates for the Cantonal Assembly. He received the largest number of votes. But he was not removed by the Tesanj lobby. He was removed by the OSCE. It was unjust because he is a humanist and our candidate for the governor of the canton. We tried to make sure that Zenica be well represented. There were quite a few candidates from Zenica on our lists, but because of open lists it turned out that only Tarik Kapidzic was elected to the Federation Parliament and Hamdija Kulovic was elected to the Bosnian Parliament.
Kulovic dropped his candidacy for the governor of the canton. Whom do you intend to propose instead of him?
The SBiH still hasn't come up with a new candidate, but I cannot state that the candidacy commission of the party has discussed individuals who could be candidates for certain functions. The attitude of the party, as well as mine, is that if SBiH participates in the local authorities, its candidate will come form Zenica.
How come Semso Saletovic, a waiter from Zavodovici, was a candidate for the Chamber of Nations?
I think that it is shameful that certain individuals think that people without higher education cannot be representatives in the parliament.
Could you list Mr. Saletovic's qualities?
First, Semso will definitely represent interests of the Bosniak people, I am convinced, much better than those who even do not recognize the existence of the Bosniaks and want to be on the list for the Chamber of Nations. Dzevad Galijasevic does not recognize the existence of the Bosniak nation and such a man, in my opinion, should not be a candidate for the Chamber of Nations. I have to quote for you what he wrote in his book "Bosnian Muslims - national question" in 1996: King Petar demonstrated a method of struggle for Muslim support and at the same time the royal family had no fear of possible abuses of Muslims for anti-Serb purposes. But when Muslims became a nation, overnight the political and ethnic map of Bosnia-Hercegovina irreversibly shifted to the advantage of Serb enemies. And Serb enemies were neither the Vatican, nor Germany, nor even Croatia, but in each one of these centers, with more or less success, an anti-Serb clique became prominent and it sought in Muslims allies for merciless political and every other struggle against the strongest political and military factor in the Balkans. Not the people, not the state, but individuals in the institutions dictated all aspects of policy. Therefore, old fashioned feudal political consciousness, refreshed by a new concept - Muslims as a nation instead of as a religious group - that is the essence of the Bosnian oriental Titoism-Communism." He also wrote this: "Bosniakdom was never a national consciousness; it is a policy of compromise between the ruling oligarchy and Islamic religious officials who are served to us as interpreters of our consciousness and past." Can such a man represent interests of Bosniaks in the Chamber of Nations?! I guarantee that he works for Serbs! Finally, I do not care whether someone is paid by certain services from outside the Federation, but I do care about political views and I am not bothered by anyone from SBiH as a multinational party who may be at any function, but a person that does not recognize the Bosniak nation cannot represent Bosniaks.
The most recent elections put the SBiH in the position of an equal partner of the SDP and the SDA. Which ministries will you demand from them?
We shall first demand that the goals of the Cantonal authorities be established, of course if we end up participating in the executive authorities. Then we shall ask the office of Prime Minister.
Where do you see yourself in the new authorities?
My desire was to become a deputy in the Federation Parliament, although, indeed, I did not expect such a strong support from the voters.
Will you be one of the candidates for the minister of health in the Zenica-Doboj Canton?
It is too early to discuss that.