Current political system in Bosnia degrades democracy: Bosnian Croat leader

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Bosnian Croat leader Zeljko Komsic on Wednesday said that the political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, based exclusively on ethnic and then on political affiliation, degrades democracy.

"The political system in Bosnia and Herzegovina does not contain complete democracy, but a form of ethnocracy, or a system in which the elections for government institutions, the exercise of power, the distribution of jobs in the state, and even in the real sector, are mostly based on ethnicity as a prerequisite,” Komsic said in his address at the 78th UN General Assembly.

“In such a system, you usually don't have the best people in key positions, people who, with their knowledge and abilities, can build political, economic and social systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the contrary, you have ethnically and politically suitable cadres who can hardly be expected to lead the overall progress of the country,” he added.

Speaking about global migration, Komsic said that the current form of migration management has reached such a stage that large and powerful countries, for their own benefit, choose the best and most educated migrants, such as doctors, engineers, scientists and other highly qualified people, who are then directed to larger countries where their knowledge and abilities are “exploited.”

This migration management, he added, weakens the potential of the smaller countries from which these migrants come.

“Small countries, in addition to losing the best quality personnel, at the same time lose all the investments, including financial ones … Of course, it is completely clear that there is such a form of migration, in which large groups of people try to escape from war and war horrors, but there is also what we call economic migration, through which migrants are directed, based on their potential and capacities,” Komsic added.