The Association of Independent Intellectuals ‘Circle 99’ wrote to United States (U.S.) Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken and the U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on Europe on the occasion of the upcoming hearing on ‘U.S. Engagement in the Balkans’.
In this letter, among other things, they expressed concern over the statements of some envoys of the State Department but also took the opportunity to thank the U.S. administration for its long-term support for our country.
Below, you can find the parts of the letter:
”Respected,
We are a multiethnic civil society organization called the ”Association of Independent Intellectuals” from Sarajevo (74 active out of a total of 146 members), which has been discussing key issues of the state and society of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) every Sunday for 28 years.
We would like to express our gratitude to the current U.S.administration for its long-standing support to BiH since the wars in the Balkans in the 1990s.
However, we are very concerned about the statements of some envoys of the State Department.
During the visit to Sarajevo, options for reforming the electoral legislation were presented, which are not possible and which, if implemented, would in fact strengthen the role of ethno-nationalist political forces in BiH, as well as further division and collapse of the state. These are the same forces that, with the collaboration of the policies of the two neighboring states, threatened to divide the country in the 1990s, and which are now re-strengthening their influence. It would jeopardize the security not only of BiH but also of Southeast Europe and the wider Euro-Atlantic community. Advocating compromise to the detriment of democratic standards under the Russian/Soviet model of the constituency (one country, two entities, three peoples) is only a sure path to a dysfunctional state, discrimination of citizens, destruction of a multiethnic society,and strengthening separatism of Republika Srpska (RS) leader Milorad Dodik and others.
We express our support for BiH based on a simplified structure of government in accordance with the models of true democracy in all other parts of the Euro-Atlantic community and in accordance with human rights and fundamental freedoms standards, which is stated in the current Constitution of BiH.
E.Dz.
