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Against nationalism: How the traffic light wants to strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovina

2022-06-02T13:45:00.797Z


There has been rumbling in Bosnia for months, and there was even talk of another war. The traffic light coalition now wants to strengthen the country politically. But resistance threatens.


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Foreign Minister Baerbock, High Representative Schmidt: More attention for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Photo: FEHIM DEMIR / EPA

Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been increasingly on the agenda of world politics, the political situation there is considered unstable.

The influence of foreign powers such as China and Russia, but also Turkey, is great.

At the end of last year, there were even warnings of renewed armed conflict.

Now the traffic light groups have submitted a motion to strengthen the state in the Bundestag.

The content is explosive: the motion, which took months to develop by the three MPs Adis Ahmetović (SPD), Boris Mijatović (Greens) and Thomas Hacker (FDP), is clearly opposed to ethno-national politics and is committed to a “historical and European responsibility for the Peacekeeping« throughout the Western Balkans region.

"We want to send a signal that the entire region is of interest, not just Bosnia," says Mijatović.

The politically most important demand: it would be welcomed if the federal government "considered" supporting the European military operation "Althea" again.

Germany was part of the mission until 2012, so a deployment would not be new territory.

The Bundeswehr is currently examining whether the troops should soon send two teams of a dozen soldiers each to Bosnia.

They are to participate in a network of small Eufor mission listening posts spread across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Only lightly armed, the teams on the ground explore whether conflicts could develop or whether, for example, large demonstrations are pending that could escalate.

In that case, then, the teams would request more robust Eufor units from Sarajevo.

The commander of the mission, an Austrian, had wished for German participation when Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht visited Sarajevo in early May.

Increased attention

For a long time, the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina received little attention in German foreign policy; it was not even mentioned in the coalition agreement of the grand coalition.

The traffic light already struck a different tone in their alliance pact: »We support the EU-led normalization dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia and the efforts to achieve lasting peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on maintaining territorial integrity and overcoming ethnic divisions.« The Bosnia -Application is the implementation of this agreement, so Mijatović.

Since taking office in December, two federal ministers, Annalena Baerbock and Lambrecht, have visited the state, and Chancellor Scholz has announced a visit.

The reason for the increased attention?

Since the end of the war between 1992 and 1995, there have been repeated ethnic conflicts, and the situation has worsened since the end of 2021. In the Serbian-dominated Republic of Srpska, President Milorad Dodik is currently threatening secession.

In December 2021, the state parliament under Dodik decided to withdraw from the nationwide tax and justice system and the army.

At the same time, however, Dodik is part of the three-headed state presidency, which represents the entire country.

The body was created to represent the three largest ethnic groups, Bosniaks, Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs, on an equal footing and at the same time to preside over the two republics.

Accordingly, Bosnia and Herzegovina has not just one but three presidents, which often makes political decisions complicated.

Overall, the state structure with its many veto options is fragile and inefficient in parts. Dodik's efforts to separate the country are only further destabilizing.

The nationalist enjoys the backing of the Kremlin. 

In the traffic light application, both Dodik and a representative of the nationalist-Croatian party, Dragan Čović, are mentioned by name and sharply criticized: The behavior of such »nationalist« politicians is »designed to destroy Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state and home to a diverse population «.

Words that could meet with opposition within the European Union.

Čović's party and he himself are supported by the ultra-national Croatian President Zoran Milanović.

In this respect, the adoption of such a paper should not meet with approval on the Adriatic.

In Serbia, too, which maintains close contacts in the Republic of Srpska, the motion is likely to trigger outrage: it calls on both countries to distance themselves from "nationalist-separatist forces".

So far, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has stood closely by Dodik's side.

It is also necessary to "warn of the risk that the severe political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina will escalate into a security crisis".

Other demands include:

  • Sanctions against persons, institutions and companies that undermine the sovereignty or constitutional order of Bosnia

  • Strengthening of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina

  • Support for the autumn 2022 elections

  • Continuation of the "Berlin Process", a conference co-initiated by the Federal Government with all six Western Balkan countries and the EU

  • Greater support for projects such as exchange programs for journalists, university cooperation and the work of political foundations in the countries of the Western Balkans

The demand for the strengthening of the High Representative could also be politically problematic.

The High Representative is responsible for the implementation of the peace agreement.

Russia opposes the current incumbent, but former German agriculture minister Christian Schmidt, and stopped payments to fund the office last month.

During his tenure, Schmidt criticized Dodik in a report for secessionist efforts and had to endure massive hostilities from Serbian nationalists.

Electoral reform is uncertain

The upcoming parliamentary elections in October are also mentioned several times in the application.

A reform of the electoral law has been discussed in the country for years, and the application is also positive for such a project.

This is necessary because the European Court of Justice already determined in 2009 that the currently valid electoral law is discriminatory.

Currently, only members of the three so-called "constitutive peoples", i.e. Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats, can apply for a seat in the presidency or in the Chamber of Nations.

Members of minorities are accordingly excluded.

In the course of this, the paper says, there is concern that "the negative influence of neighboring countries on a possible electoral law reform will increase".

What is meant by this is Croatia, whose president has declared that he wants Finland and Sweden to join NATO dependent on an electoral reform in favor of the Croats living in Bosnia.

Given the majorities in the Croatian parliament, it is questionable whether he could actually get this through.

However, it is unlikely that the electoral law will actually be reformed by October.

The traffic light application was referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday morning and is now on its way to parliament.

Should the Bundestag actually adopt it in this form in the end, its clear wording could have an impact on the whole of Europe – at least that is what the responsible applicants hope.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-06-02

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