CrveniTalas
4th January 2014, 17:01
Hello comrades,
Firstly I would like to apologize for not keeping up with the topics and debates on the board these last few months, but I would like to inform you all about the efforts that me and others have been making to establish an organization in Bosnia.
In August of 2013, me and 8 other dedicated, active comrades came together and adopted the statute and program (detailed in the document: Our Vision, which I will attach for you all to read at the end of my message) for our organization. The membership is growing and the message is being spread, in part thanks to some of the educational activities that we have carried out thus far. Yet a MAJOR challenge for us has been the registration process: The ministry of (in)justice of BiH is controlled by the Croat nationalist HDZ party which has filled the ministry with their underlings. They are strongly opposed to our anti-nationalist stance and have blocked our attempt at registration. Although we are as dedicated as ever to establishing our organization because of our strong belief in our program and ideas, without proper registration it is virtually impossible to raise funds to carry out major projects. Valuable months have been lost waiting for the official decision and in the end we were denied because of our anti-nationalist, multinational and progressive character. We have been forced to conduct work semi-legally in a supposedly democratic state that claims that it wants to build up civil society. In the next week or so, we will attempt to register once more and I will keep you all informed about events.
In the meantime, it would be great to get advice from comrades about possibly what organizations one can turn to in order to facilitate capacity-building. I have contacted the RLS in the Balkans and they said the possibility of carrying out joint projects exists. Yet, again the registration issue remains to be resolved...Also, we would be very interested in establishing contacts with comrades and organizations in countries that have sizable Balkan populations. We would be more than willing to provide material to try to reach out to these groups and connect on an international level. In any case the possibilities for cooperation for great so I look forward to hearing from each of you!
Comradely greetings,
C. Talas
OUR VISION
It is becoming ever clearer that great changes must take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The present political arrangement, which perpetuates the division of the country, is not only unsustainable, but an obstacle to social progress. Considering that the nationalists, who have controlled the country for over two decades, are incapable of neither carrying through the necessary process of multinational reconciliation nor solving the other key problems affecting the country, it is time to put forward a progressive alternative with the aim of changing the existing state of affairs. This alternative reflects the understanding of Bosnia as a multinational and confessional country and that it can only exist as such.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is still a divided land.
Perhaps the greatest injustice of the brutal war, that lasted from 1992 to 1995, is that the citizens of Bosnia and Hercegovina, a land where people of different nationalities and religions lived together for hundreds of years, are divided into hostile camps. The internal division, the hatred that the nationalists spread and the artificial walls that they build between the communities makes any sort of progress, including economic,political and social, impossible. The nationalists, as soon as they came to power in 1990, began to create tensions and hatred between the communities in Bosnia. These dangerous, chauvnistic ideologies led to war only two years later and
they are setting the stage for future conflicts today. All Croatian and Serb nationalists in Bosnia, openly or covertly, support either independence for the territory they consider theirs or joining with Croatia or Serbia, respectively. There can be no doubt that a new attempt at separation will trigger another war because the majority of the Bosnians will never accept the dismemberment of Bosnia. All progressive Bosnians have a duty to fight against separatism and support the unity of the country. However, on the
other hand, the Bosniak support the domination by Bosniaks and consider Bosnia almost exclusively as a Bosniak and Muslim land. They fail to see that Bosnia is not only a Bosniak land. Bosnia is a land of Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and all other people who live in the country.
One fact must be quickly brought out: the nationalists do not represent the national interests of 'their' people; they represent only the narrow interests of the national elites. By looking at the situation from this approach, it becomes very clear why the Bosniak, Croat and Serb nationalists come into conflict as
they are competing for power and control of the wealth. The main reasons that the nationalist parties receive a large share of the votes is because many citizens dependent on their patronage (for jobs, donations and other benefits) and they have the unconditional support of the most backwards segments of Bosnian society. This is a vicious cycle must be broken.
Thus, the nationalists will never be a progressive political current in Bosnia.
The Movement for Social Progress (PDN) presents a clear alternatve for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The goal of this movement is to bring together progressive Bosnians and Herzegovinians in an open organization to fight for a united, pluralistic, civic Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The MSP is countering the destructive influence of the nationalists.
The MSP has a definite, far-reaching programme for rebuilding the country and society:
1. Deconstruction of the war-time entitities. For a Bosnia without internal borders. Without unity there can be no progress.
2. Abolition of all discriminatory laws. Equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, without regard for nationality and religion. The human rights of all citizens must be equally and fully respected.
3. Workers' rights must be strengthened and protected. Workers must be able to freely form trade unions independent of the State. Employers, not the workers, must carry the responsibility for breaking labour laws.
4. Secularization in the education system. Discrimination in schools based on nationality and religion must end.
5. The State must promote the process of return of displaced persons and refugees to their pre-war homes. Conditions for a successful and sustainable return must be guaranteed by the national and local governments.
6. Pensioners must have the right to greater pensions, its regular distribution and other benefits.
7. The State must actively participate in strengthening the economic sector. A policy of economic development must be implemented.
8. A culture of reconciliation, tolerance and understanding must be promoted on all social levels – economic, judicial, educational, political.
The discontent of a massive section of citizens with the current situation in the country forces us to find and propose solutions. The crisis of Bosnian society will never be solved with hate, isolation and separation, but only with great efforts towards reconciliation, unity and social justice.
Firstly I would like to apologize for not keeping up with the topics and debates on the board these last few months, but I would like to inform you all about the efforts that me and others have been making to establish an organization in Bosnia.
In August of 2013, me and 8 other dedicated, active comrades came together and adopted the statute and program (detailed in the document: Our Vision, which I will attach for you all to read at the end of my message) for our organization. The membership is growing and the message is being spread, in part thanks to some of the educational activities that we have carried out thus far. Yet a MAJOR challenge for us has been the registration process: The ministry of (in)justice of BiH is controlled by the Croat nationalist HDZ party which has filled the ministry with their underlings. They are strongly opposed to our anti-nationalist stance and have blocked our attempt at registration. Although we are as dedicated as ever to establishing our organization because of our strong belief in our program and ideas, without proper registration it is virtually impossible to raise funds to carry out major projects. Valuable months have been lost waiting for the official decision and in the end we were denied because of our anti-nationalist, multinational and progressive character. We have been forced to conduct work semi-legally in a supposedly democratic state that claims that it wants to build up civil society. In the next week or so, we will attempt to register once more and I will keep you all informed about events.
In the meantime, it would be great to get advice from comrades about possibly what organizations one can turn to in order to facilitate capacity-building. I have contacted the RLS in the Balkans and they said the possibility of carrying out joint projects exists. Yet, again the registration issue remains to be resolved...Also, we would be very interested in establishing contacts with comrades and organizations in countries that have sizable Balkan populations. We would be more than willing to provide material to try to reach out to these groups and connect on an international level. In any case the possibilities for cooperation for great so I look forward to hearing from each of you!
Comradely greetings,
C. Talas
OUR VISION
It is becoming ever clearer that great changes must take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The present political arrangement, which perpetuates the division of the country, is not only unsustainable, but an obstacle to social progress. Considering that the nationalists, who have controlled the country for over two decades, are incapable of neither carrying through the necessary process of multinational reconciliation nor solving the other key problems affecting the country, it is time to put forward a progressive alternative with the aim of changing the existing state of affairs. This alternative reflects the understanding of Bosnia as a multinational and confessional country and that it can only exist as such.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is still a divided land.
Perhaps the greatest injustice of the brutal war, that lasted from 1992 to 1995, is that the citizens of Bosnia and Hercegovina, a land where people of different nationalities and religions lived together for hundreds of years, are divided into hostile camps. The internal division, the hatred that the nationalists spread and the artificial walls that they build between the communities makes any sort of progress, including economic,political and social, impossible. The nationalists, as soon as they came to power in 1990, began to create tensions and hatred between the communities in Bosnia. These dangerous, chauvnistic ideologies led to war only two years later and
they are setting the stage for future conflicts today. All Croatian and Serb nationalists in Bosnia, openly or covertly, support either independence for the territory they consider theirs or joining with Croatia or Serbia, respectively. There can be no doubt that a new attempt at separation will trigger another war because the majority of the Bosnians will never accept the dismemberment of Bosnia. All progressive Bosnians have a duty to fight against separatism and support the unity of the country. However, on the
other hand, the Bosniak support the domination by Bosniaks and consider Bosnia almost exclusively as a Bosniak and Muslim land. They fail to see that Bosnia is not only a Bosniak land. Bosnia is a land of Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and all other people who live in the country.
One fact must be quickly brought out: the nationalists do not represent the national interests of 'their' people; they represent only the narrow interests of the national elites. By looking at the situation from this approach, it becomes very clear why the Bosniak, Croat and Serb nationalists come into conflict as
they are competing for power and control of the wealth. The main reasons that the nationalist parties receive a large share of the votes is because many citizens dependent on their patronage (for jobs, donations and other benefits) and they have the unconditional support of the most backwards segments of Bosnian society. This is a vicious cycle must be broken.
Thus, the nationalists will never be a progressive political current in Bosnia.
The Movement for Social Progress (PDN) presents a clear alternatve for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The goal of this movement is to bring together progressive Bosnians and Herzegovinians in an open organization to fight for a united, pluralistic, civic Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The MSP is countering the destructive influence of the nationalists.
The MSP has a definite, far-reaching programme for rebuilding the country and society:
1. Deconstruction of the war-time entitities. For a Bosnia without internal borders. Without unity there can be no progress.
2. Abolition of all discriminatory laws. Equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, without regard for nationality and religion. The human rights of all citizens must be equally and fully respected.
3. Workers' rights must be strengthened and protected. Workers must be able to freely form trade unions independent of the State. Employers, not the workers, must carry the responsibility for breaking labour laws.
4. Secularization in the education system. Discrimination in schools based on nationality and religion must end.
5. The State must promote the process of return of displaced persons and refugees to their pre-war homes. Conditions for a successful and sustainable return must be guaranteed by the national and local governments.
6. Pensioners must have the right to greater pensions, its regular distribution and other benefits.
7. The State must actively participate in strengthening the economic sector. A policy of economic development must be implemented.
8. A culture of reconciliation, tolerance and understanding must be promoted on all social levels – economic, judicial, educational, political.
The discontent of a massive section of citizens with the current situation in the country forces us to find and propose solutions. The crisis of Bosnian society will never be solved with hate, isolation and separation, but only with great efforts towards reconciliation, unity and social justice.