Political parties, egos battle in Sandzak

04/08/2010

The results of ethnic minority council elections provoked a standoff among Bosniak political powers. A subsequent government decision to repeat the vote is adding fuel to the fire.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade – 04/08/10

The Bosniak Cultural Community won the June 6th vote. [Getty Images]

Relations among political parties in Sandzak have deteriorated conspicuously since the recent elections for the Bosniak National Council. The vote, held on June 6th, was won by the Bosniak Cultural Community, led by Sandzak mufti Muamer Zukorlic. It took 17 out of 35 seats on the council.

That is less than a full majority, however, and neither of the other two leading Bosniak parties -- Rasim Ljajic's Bosniak Revival and Sulejman Ugljanin's Bosniak Ticket -- have been willing to form a coalition with Zukorlic.

Ljajic and Ugljanin, both of whom are ministers in the Serbian cabinet, cited Zukorlic's criticism of the government and Bosniak politicians in Serbia.

Now the Serbian Human and Minority Rights ministry has decided that the elections should be repeated. An outraged Zukorlic responded by warning the authorities not to "toy with Sandzak" if they care about keeping the peace.

"The state is like a building in which the tenants can love each other or not," Zukorlic said. "If the majority of the tenants decide to burn one of the apartments down, they risk setting the entire building on fire. That is why one should not play with fire. Either we will all be happy, or the fire will blaze from top to bottom."

The mufti called on Serbian President Boris Tadic to dismiss all the ministers involved in the decision to repeat the council vote.

"Repeating the election is a violation of the law and we hope President Tadic will be more sensitive to the interests of Bosniaks than certain government ministers," Zukorlic's spokesman, Samir Tandir, told SETimes.

Zukorlic's supporters say they will take their case before the Court of Human Rights. Meanwhile, political opponents Ljajic and Ugljanin are critical.

Confrontation with Belgrade will not benefit the Bosniaks, Ljajic told SETimes. "That kind of approach can only cause damage to the citizens of Sandzak. Such a path is completely wrong and can only repel investors seeking to invest in Sandzak."

Sandzak-based Radio Sto Plus editor Ishak Slezovic does not believe disputes in Sandzak can endanger the stability of Serbia, but says that minor conflicts within rival options among the Bosniaks may occur.

"There is a great deal of personal vanity and intolerance at play," Slezovic told SETimes.