COVER N. 257 - BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - BH Pošta

Postmark: Cazin 77220 24.04.2023

Posted on the 24th April; Received on the 23rd May 2023
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Bosnia and Herzegovina  

I had a puncture on the way to Sarajevo... I was stepping a bit more on the gas pedal because I wanted to arrive in time for the last Free Walking Tour of the day... suddenly, when exiting a bend, a hole in the asphalt.... bang... and pffffft.... the onomatopoeiae immediately translated to my brain as trouble....

Luckily the rented car had a spare tire, so after some sweat and a good swearing session, we were back on the road with a useless tire in  the rear seat, since installing the spare wheel on its compartment below the trunk on a Renault Clio takes at least a Masters Degree in Physics and a PhD in pictogram reading.

Anyway, huffing and puffing we managed to get to the walking tour meeting place just minutes after the session had began, so we didn't miss much of the initial explanation.

And it was an important one, because to this day I am still confused by the way Bosnia and Herzegovina is run as a state, since I don't think there is any other state in the world with a more complex configuration/ Government.

As far as I can understand, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a Federal state  comprising i) another fully fledged federation - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;  ii) a republic - Republika Srpska and iii) a common territory, the District of Brčko,  under administration of both The Federation and the Republic, but entitled to equal rights as its administrators and with its own government.... Confused? so am I!

I won't go into any more details regarding the political organization  of the State, since to fully understand it is even more difficult than placing the spare tire in its compartment in a Renault Clio, but  it should be noted that it is unified under a tripartite  Presidency, in representation of the three main ethnic groups - Bosniaks (who is the dominant ethnic group in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs (who dominate in the Republika Srpska) and Croats - held in rotation by a representative of  each of these communities for eight months throughout a 4 year period. 

Tensions in the region seem to be rising again, unfortunately, and I only hope that the holes in the walls that I saw when I was travelling through ancient Yugoslavia will keep reminding people that there is a much better way of solving any questions than making holes in walls, the more so, since many of the bullets that made those holes, had first passed through flesh....

This fact not withstanding, another of the eccentricities of  Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a very significant one for the main subject matter of this blog, is that it has three separate Postal Services, one for each of its composing administrative units: BH Pošta, operating in most of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Pošte Srpske, operating in the Republika Srpska,  and  Hrvatska pošta Mostar, catering for  Croat-majority areas in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Once again Eric made sure my list of countries and Postal Administrations keeps growing at a steady pace, and I was very please to receive this cover from Bosnia and Herzegovina, sent through BH Pošta.

Muito Obrigado Eric!

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Common Europa Issue of 1956, on 30NOV2005 BH Pošta issued the souvenir sheet (in both perforated and imperforated versions) comprising 4 stamps, denominated in Euros and Bosnian Marka, that can be seen on the cover. The stamps highlighted UE integration, with the flags of the European countries both EU members and non members, the common European  currency and a more locally centred event, the organization by Bosnia and Herzegovina of the XV European Chess Cup Finals in 1999, in the city of Bugojno.

The registred mail cover was sent from the city of Cazin, in the northwest corner of the Federation of  Bosnia and Herzegovina.