The issue of national identity is taken seriously by Balkan people – including the least serious among them.
Bosnian Officials’ Relentless Efforts Start Paying Off
Sarajevo | 18 September 2009 | By Srecko Latal
Srecko Latal
It seems that most local politicians have used their summer respite well. They have recharged their batteries and are now bursting with renewed radical propaganda, tacky statements and narrow-minded policies.
Bosnian Serb leaders successfully blocked the appointment of a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) to the position of state Minister of Security. Bosniak leaders tried but failed to block the appointment of a Bosnian Croat candidate to the position of country’s chief EU negotiator. A Bosnian Serb candidate eventually got the job.
Bosnian Croat ministers boycotted the work of the Bosniak-Croat Federation government over changes to the route of a key motorway. They apparently ended their boycott, but then the Bosniak Minister of Spatial Planning went into a resignation spree and quit all government and party positions.
The Bosnian Serb member of the Bosnian Presidency then upped the ante and told a Belgrade newspaper that the country is closer to dissolution than to proper functioning. As if this wasn’t the case, Bosniak leaders were offended and said patriots would defend Bosnia and Herzegovina from any dissolution, like they did between 1992-5. Now it was the Bosnian Serb leaders’ time to get offended, so they accused Bosniak leaders of warmongering.
The Premier of the Serb-dominated entity of Republika Srpska could not stand it that other politicians’ quarrels took all of the media spotlight, so he revisited the old Radovan Karadzic line about the Sarajevo Markale and Tuzla Kapija massacres being staged by the Bosniaks to blemish the Bosnian Serbs reputation.
Not to anybody’s surprise, Bosniak and international officials fumed. They slammed Dodik’s tastelessness and rushed to proclaim him persona-non-grata in Tuzla. As if Dodik would ever want to go there anyway.
Behind all these events, so crucial for Bosnia’s long-term prosperity, democratisation and EU and NATO membership, local and international leaders were also busy digging trenches and taking positions on somewhat less important issues.
Bosniak leaders try to delay the law on census because they don’t want ethnic references included in the questionnaire. Bosnian Serb leaders insist on ethnic references in the questionnaire. If they don’t reach an agreement within the next month or so, they will not have time to organise a country-wide census by 2011, a key condition for Bosnia’s future relations with the EU. But hey, who cares priorities are priorities.
Bosnian Serb leaders don’t want to hear about changes to the constitution and ethnic voting. They love the Dayton peace accord too much and cannot stand to see any changes to it. Bosniak, Bosniak Croat and international leaders are increasingly pushing for a new round of constitutional changes. Last time they tried it, in 2006, they initiated this political crisis we currently live in. So they apparently didn’t learn much, and risk further escalating the crisis. But again, who cares. US and EU officials have to be seen to be doing something, even if they don’t know what to do.
You may have noticed that most of these important and distinguished September political activities have been going on between Bosnian Serb and Bosniak leaders, but that does not mean that I want to marginalise the Bosnian Croat leadership.
They are actually the smart ones. While others waste their energy left and right, they focus on issues that truly matter for the country and its people. Just like the main Bosnian Croat leader who only a few days ago gave us his own example how people should boost the morale of their families in the middle of this hard political and economic crisis.
He went out and bought a house on the Croatian coast for his wife and registered it in her father’s name. This unselfish move will not only help his in-laws to get over these difficult times. It will also improve economic relations between the two countries since the poor guy shelled out a full €320,000 on the deal.
So who dares to say that Bosnian leaders don’t work enough? Just look at everything that they have achieved in less than three weeks since returning from their vacations. As the 2010 general elections approach fast, we can be sure that they will continue and even perhaps further improve their on their relentless efforts, to the endless happiness and joy of all citizens.
But don’t you think that I have forgotten all the hard-working western officials. They also used their summer holidays to recharge their batteries. Their renewed energy and vigour soon became obvious. Although some experts thought it impossible, EU officials have successfully used the first few weeks of September to further deepen their ignorance of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Only a few days ago one EU commissioner said that the EU still plans to close down Bosnia’s Office of the High Representative, OHR, although he honestly admitted that conditions for doing so have not yet been met.
In his report to the UN Security Council, another EU commissioner has dutifully expressed his concern about the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but stressed that the political crisis is not affecting the security situation. Blockades of the state and entity governments, threats of dissolution, warmongering and an increased number of ethnic incidents in the field obviously don’t count. I would be interested to learn what would count for him.
In another piece of good news, it became obvious that western ignorance has finally started paying off. After so many lessons, local leaders have finally gotten the knack of this new, western technique. As a result, all senior Bosniak, Bosnian Serb and Croat leaders completely ignored invitations to a coordination meeting called at the beginning of this week by two top EU officials in Bosnia, the head of the OHR and the head of the EU mission in the country.
This development should not be seen as a message that Bosnia does not want to join Europe. Rather, this masterful move was obviously intended to show how local people can skillfully apply even the most difficult and advanced western techniques. This development has also showed that local leaders can find a joint position on an issue. As long as it keeps the country as far from EU as possible, that is.
I have to admit that all this intensive work by local and international leaders has helped me to better understand the latest situation in the country.
Only few months ago I erroneously thought that Bosnia and Herzegovina was finding itself in a situation akin to the chaotic and confusing post-war years. Thanks to the most recent efforts of local and international leaders, I have realised that I was wrong.
I stand corrected. The country faces a situation similar to the chaotic and confusing pre-war years.
2009-09-21 07:05:47