In the last two months, High Representative Christian Schmidt has used the Bonn powers twice. The determination of the international community to solve the problems of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) or forced short-range moves?
History is the teacher of life. If they listened to Cicero, then the world’s centers of power embodied in Washington and Brussels could learn from the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and the High Representative during Petritsch or Ashdown – that the policies they pursued through the intensive use of the Bonn powers yielded the best results. Schmidt, obviously, listened. In addition to the decisions by which he protected the state, he restored the shaken confidence in the determination of the international community that the sovereignty of BiH is a red line.
”The High Representative is, in fact, the last glimmer of BiH’s sovereignty. The High Representative role was added to the Dayton Constitution because it was understood at the time when it was already signed that it would always be possible to carry out blockades and that the state had lost its sovereignty, and some corrective is needed to maintain that sovereignty to some extent, and therefore a High Representative role has been inserted. As long as there is a Dayton constitution, there should be a High Representative,” explains international relations expert Zlatko Hadzidedic.
”It is clear to the world what is happening here, it is clear who are the main obstacles to the European path, it is clear who cares about the status quo and why and, accordingly, the world is reversing its strategy and tactics when it comes to BiH, at least when it comes to these first signals in the High Representative’s actions,” evaluates academician Slavo Kukic.
This is an encouraging sign of the processes that could take place in BiH in the coming period. This is clear from the first reactions of those who start the crowd in BiH. In the first instance, the leaders of the policies of HDZ BiH and SNSD, the Covic-Dodik duo. It is obvious that it is completely clear to them that the international community has finally decided to settle the situation in BiH and that the only way if they want to stay on the political scene is to keep quiet. But there seems to be no silence.
”The Balkan type of politician, which is very pronounced in BiH, reacts most effectively to the policy of carrot-and-stick. Carrots have been used here in recent years and it is time for this type of politician to feel the stick as well,” Kukic points out.
The phrase that the white building in the middle of Sarajevo has revived finds refuge in different instructions to Schmidt than those given to his predecessors, but, truth be told, the one with whom Inzko said goodbye to this function. From this, it follows that any attempt to unpack the Dayton Peace Package into parts that correspond to the forces of BiH destruction will be only a step away from achieving the political goals set in the party kitchens of the two parties based in Mostar and Banja Luka.
However, such encouragement, caused by the recent moves of the High Representative, should be viewed with caution because, according to Hadzidedic, everything can be short-lived.
”There is no hidden deity or I do not know how to call it in the form of the international community. We have been deluding ourselves for 30 years that there is some great righteous uncle somewhere up there called the international community who will come and save us all from some evil dwarves here,”Hadzidedic adds.
In that Kingdom of BiH, it is true that there is no shortage of bad people, but as in any kingdom written in fairy tales, good wins in the end. This Bosnian fairy tale has been written for a long time with mostly the same characters. The question is whether the citizens, as authors, will decide to introduce some new characters or will Schmidt write the course of the action and the new characters. With a pen called the Bonn Power, Federalna writes.
E.Dz.
