Guests

I salute all of you,

I would like to use this opportunity to thank SARAJEVO TRIBUNE and Director Sabiha Hadzimuratovic, for inviting me to participate in the WORKSHOP on Bjelasnica, as well as on the 4th International Conference "Education for a Culture of Peace".

IDENTITY is one of the subjects that we discussed on Bjelasnica, and one of the main terms whose explanation is, let's say, necessary when we talk about a conflict, its solving and co-living.

All students were interested in this subject, even those who have always been indifferent, which suggests that this is existing and always actual subject, regardless a sex, race, territorial determination, or educational degree. I will feel free to say that the issue of IDENTITY is existential issue. Why? That's because a human being has an innate predisposition for defining, classifying, as well as building a wall around him. He expresses this predisposition towards his environment, as well as his own inner world. Human being has essential need to define him and to take a position, as indifferent, emotional, and instinctive creature. If this doesn't happen, he feels lost and helpless for not having his position and function in the world, which is why he becomes a threat and potential danger for environment.

The need for identity is a general characteristic of people as different human beings, and a way of someone's identifying is his personal thing that deserves respect! This is the key point! We agreed that determination of our own identity is the right and the need of every individual and it should be respected, even if these determinations were absolutely different.

Respecting others, we respect ourselves, because the other is the one to whom we represent our identity, and thanks to this difference we exist and function as unique and unrepeatable individuals, unique and unrepeatable populations, nations..

But these differences are, at the end, uniqueness of one identity, our spirit. Respecting these differences is a necessary element that leads us to understanding this uniqueness and that they belong to the same.

Therefore, respecting other's decision to express himself as a member of some religion, nation, politics etc, is OBLIGATION AND DUTY of all of us. If we think and act in that way, we improve ourselves as tolerant and just people. We even become stronger and more independent individuals.

However, this feeling of respect shouldn't be imposed by someone else, it has to arise from ourselves. Only in this way we are able to have a truly and absolute relation with other person as someone very important to us. This is not very easy and simple way, but we have to consider that as an imperative, categorical imperative (as Kant said), as the main moral norm.

In order to get the freedom and to achieve completion of our own personality, we are obligated to raise our consciousness to a higher level. Unfortunately, the fact is that most of the people don't understand this. That is why conflicts happen between people, nations, and religions.

Those people don't have a courage to begin a hard and necessary path towards understanding themselves and others, respecting themselves and others.

They accept a pattern, imposed by someone else, which is the problem, because those beliefs haven't arisen from themselves, and they are not truly and their own, natural beliefs. They should overcome this imposed, other's consciousness, and to express their own, which will reflect in the fact that we are all the same, equally worth, and that belonging to some religion, nation, and politics is not and shouldn't be a reason for conflicts.

This higher consciousness can be considered as prevention of elementary conflicts.

THANK YOU ONE MORE TIME