Inclusive policies can combat extremism: Bosniak leader

By Nilay Kar Onum

ISTANBUL (AA) - The world needs inclusive policies in order to combat extremism, the Bosniak member of the tripartite presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina said on Tuesday, adding that many lessons can be learned from his country's tumultuous past.

Speaking at a session titled: The Threat of Far-right Extremism: War on Terror 2.0? on the second day of the TRT World Forum, Sefik Dzaferovic underlined the importance of co-existing peacefully with people from different religious backgrounds, races and cultures.

“Many lessons can be learned from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its experiences ongoing for decades prove that differences can live together," he said.

Stating that Bosnia and Herzegovina oppose extremism as a state policy, he said: “The nature of extremism is exclusionist but what the world needs is integrating states.”

The Bosniak member recalled the Srebrenica massacre and siege of Sarajevo between 1992-1996.

“I am coming from a country, where there are extremists who believed different people cannot live together and tried to divide it between 1992 and 1996.

“What happened in Utoya island of Norway or Christchurch city of New Zealand occurred every day for four years during Bosnia war,” he said.

“Just think of a country, where every city lived the same experience with the one in Christchurch and every village faced similar things with Utoya, even much more.

“Over 8,000 men and youths were killed in Srebrenica in a few days. 11,541 civilians were killed during the siege of Sarajevo [1992-1996],” Dzaferovic said.

The killings came after Bosnian Serb forces attacked Srebrenica in July 1995, despite the presence of Dutch troops tasked as international peacekeepers.

Srebrenica was besieged by Serb forces who were trying to wrest territory from Bosnian Muslims and Croats to form their own state.

“Point of origin of those, who commit such crimes, is to divide the people, who live together for decades, by force and to share the country,” Bosniak member said.

If the extremists were right; Muslims, Orthodox, Catholics could not live together not even for one month in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he stressed.