Madeleine Albright, the first female Secretary of State of the United States (U.S.), passed away two days ago at the age of 84. During her rich diplomatic career, she was also very attached to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and in 1994 she stated: “I am from Sarajevo.”
During her visit to besieged Sarajevo in 1994, Albright, in the role of the first member of President Bill Clinton’s cabinet, stated in front of the then American Embassy: “I am from Sarajevo,” and wholeheartedly continued to support peace in BiH and the region, and in the years that followed.
Because of her exceptional merits in providing support in the fight for the defense of Sarajevo and BiH and in developing relations between people of different nations, religions, and cultures, in 2008 she was proclaimed an honorary citizen of Sarajevo.
During her engagement at the United Nations (UN), where she worked as a U.S. ambassador, she advocated a doctrine known as “lift and strike”, which concerned the lifting of the arms embargo on the Army of the Republic of BiH (ARBiH) and starting military intervention in BiH during the aggression on our country.
After the reintegration of Sarajevo municipalities, during a visit to Sarajevo in 1996, she said she was very excited about the fact that what some at the time called only her vision of reunifying the city came true within two years.
Throughout her political career, she advocated an independent, sovereign, and integral BiH.
Two years ago, at a symposium, Albright said on the topic of BiH: “We have not finished the work in BiH. Our attention must be continuous. We must return to work on what we started.”
Diplomatic circles believe that Milorad Dodik came to power in Banja Luka on the strong wings of Madeleine Albright and that this was the moment of his dizzying rise in politics. Albright, in fact, played a key role in bringing Milorad Dodik to power, for whom she said was “a fresh breath of wind in the Balkans.”
A few years ago, she said that two concepts were possible in BiH. The first in which the sins of one generation are paid for by the lives of another one, or the other concept, to turn to the process of development and democracy, as the only way out that can ensure progress for both the Balkans and BiH.
Last year in Washington, Albright accepted the invitation of the head of BiH diplomacy, Bisera Turkovic, to come to BiH again, but, unfortunately, that visit did not happen.
Until the last day of her life, Albright followed the events in BiH very closely, which is why she participated in the hearing in the U.S. Congress, in connection with the formation of the policy of the President Joe Biden administration towards BiH and the Western Balkans.
E.Dz.
Source: Klix.ba
