February 27, 2008
Crisis is never far round the corner in Bosnia
Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia is an amiable, gifted diplomat with the hardest job in town. As the international community’s high representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina, he is tasked with turning this most unhappy and dysfunctional of states into a viable long-term entity. He is also supposed somehow to put Bosnia on an irreversible path to European Union membership. Neither goal looks remotely in sight.
When Lajcak met some reporters in Brussels this week, he was pressed to say what impact the Kosovo crisis would have on Bosnia. After all, the declaration of independence by Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority in the teeth of opposition from Serbia would seem to provide the perfect justification for the ever restive Bosnian Serbs to announce that they want to secede from the state that boxes them together with Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats.
Lajcak’s answer was rather disappointing. “Bosnia-Herzegovina is no hostage to Kosovo. It’s a country that knows exactly what are the tasks ahead and what it has to do to get on the European path… Kosovo does have an impact in terms of affecting the atmosphere in the region, but people shouldn’t use Kosovo as an excuse.”
The point is, of course, that “people” - that is, the Bosnian Serbs - do use Kosovo as an excuse. They refuse to accept the EU’s argument that Kosovo is a ’sui generis’ case that sets absolutely no precedent for other parts of the Balkans or the rest of the world. And in refusing to accept this argument, they are doing no more than the government of Lajcak’s own country, Slovakia, is doing when it refuses to recognise Kosovo’s independence. For Slovakia fears that independence for Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians sets a precedent for Slovakia’s ethnic Hungarian minority.
As it happens, the present Bosnian Serb leadership under Milorad Dodik seems disinclined to exploit the Kosovo crisis to cause trouble for Lajcak and cook up reckless secessionist plots. But neither he nor the majority of Bosnian Serbs feel any affection for the bizarre and unwieldy construction that is the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. A crisis is never far round the corner in Bosnia.
Lajcak is the sixth high representative appointed to supervise Bosnia since the Dayton accords that ended the 1992-95 civil war. Kosovo’s declaration of independence, and the recognition of Kosovo by various western governments, have made it likely that even another six high representatives won’t make a success of Bosnia.
There is very good and unbiased American documentary about the Balkan wars, for everyone interested - “Yugoslavia: The Avoidable War”
1. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5860186121153047571
2. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6371060303901674397
Posted by: LazarOfSerbia | February 27th, 2008 at 8:05 pm | Report this commentKosovo belongs to the Illyrians, not Serbs, for thousands of years. Bosnia-Herzegovina belongs to the Catholic and Islamic Croats, not Serbs, for 1,300 years. Let the Serbs try to take Bosnian land — it’s war and your ally the Serbs will lose.
Posted by: Shirley Jackson | February 27th, 2008 at 10:51 pm | Report this commentShirley, There is no Bosnian land because there is no Bosnians. There are Serbs, Croats and Islamic Croats if you wish. So as you sqhiptars know, Bosnia will split as well as Kosovo.
Posted by: Bob Dole | February 27th, 2008 at 11:30 pm | Report this commentCheers
As a Bosnian who went thru the war and fought for the Independence I am disgusted by such assertion as there is no Bosnians, since Bosnia existed well before the 12th century. Not muslims but Bosnians. Also i wonder about Mr. Dole’s knowledge of the region when he classifies Bosnians as “Islamic Croats” I have never heard such a foolish remark by anyone except the radicals who start wars.
Posted by: Mirza Dedajic | February 28th, 2008 at 12:31 am | Report this commentShirley Jackson, nice attempt at an anglo name.
Your take on history is ammusing. Nuff said
Posted by: Maksimo | February 28th, 2008 at 12:31 am | Report this commentNo ethnic group wants to live with the other and if they do they simply want to be their overlords.
Bosnia is failed policy, a mini Yugoslavia! Bosnia is held together by the international community without its presence it would quickly disintegrate.
As for the Muslims, lol, they’ve changed their nationality so many times it isn’t funnny anymore. Firstly they were Croatian then they were Turkish then they were Croatian now they’re Bosniak, WTF?
Just split the country in 3, 33.34% each!
Posted by: JC | February 28th, 2008 at 1:02 am | Report this commentBosnians have always been Bosnians, they have never declared themselves Croatian or Turkish, Westerners/Outsiders call Bosnian Muslims Bosniacs, yes and? Shiptar/Albanian is all the same.
Posted by: Yope Laon | February 28th, 2008 at 1:23 am | Report this commentI do advice you to read and learn more about B&H prior to give your opinion. That way it would not be unintelligent & uncivilised as it is now.
Posted by: Dr. Mirza Kecanovic | February 28th, 2008 at 4:17 am | Report this commentI agree with the author that Bosnia – Herzegovina of today is “the bizarre and unwieldy construction”.
Posted by: Alex | February 28th, 2008 at 11:38 am | Report this commentThis state of the affairs is the result not of Bosnian intrinsic bizarreness. Let us not forget that a fully functional state of Bosnia – Herzegovina existed long time as an independent republic within the former Yugoslavia just like did Slovenia, Croatia , Serbia etc .
Its current state is a product of ethnic cleansing and genocide which was crowned at Dayton when the peace accord created the Entity of Republica Srpska.
Milorad Dodik its Prime Minister today is doing all possible to bleed Bosnia-Herzegovina white, hoping to ensure that Bosnia becomes a failed state and he concludes Milosevic’s plan of splitting the country into two and annexing it to Serbia.
It is for this reason that we have to think twice when contemplating Srpska’s further existence.
Bosniaks are muslim croats, its only muslims in bosnia who refuse to admit that. However the fact that they dont want to call them selves what everyone else in bosnia is calling them is foolish. LEY REPUBLIKA SRPSKA SPLIT. We want to join Serbia b/c everyone X-Yugoslavian knows that Kosovo (if it gets un or eu recognition will seek to do the same!!!) Just let it all end and split in with a knife. Bosnian muslims are getting to pissed b/c they realize that if they dont try to fully integrate the country (under overwhelming majority muslim rule) Republika Srpska will leave.
PS: Mr. Barber, both Republika Srpska and the Federation were created in the Dayton Accord. Check your facts. The Serbs weren’t the only ones seeking seperation. Mr. Izetbegovic protestested too to creat the federation.
50/50= Republika Srpska’s Independence!!! Yay!!!
Posted by: Darijo Blazevic | March 1st, 2008 at 12:29 am | Report this commentCroats are actually a minority within croatia, never mind in bosnia. More than 60% of modern day croats descend from illyrians, this is why the nationalist movement of the 19th century was called ‘illyrian movement’ and not ‘croat movement’
Dalmacija-Dubrovnik/Ragusa & Slavonia were inhabited by other slavic tribes and illyrians who were under the control of croats and nobody would dare call them croats until the 19th century!
Therefore how can you now claim that bosniaks are croat muslims when croats are not genetically the absolute majority in croatia???
Also, it was no coincidence that the bosniaks were referred as ‘muslims’ because the main intent was to melt them into croat and serb nationalities like the illyrians, vlah’s and all other ethnic groups. This was all made possible through christian europes crusade to rid the balkans of its muslim population, which had already been done in dalmacija/lika/slavonia - hungary - belgrade etc
So when you deny the bosniaks of their identity by calling them a factious name such as croat-muslim, at least confess that it was only made possible through Christian europes crusade to rid the Balkans of islam and not because there was no such identity
Posted by: Adnan Sacirbegovic | March 1st, 2008 at 1:34 am | Report this comment@Lazarofserbia
That is a very bias video because it was made by serbs for serbs. Why dont you watch a video that was not created by either side.
The death of yugoslavia:
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-
Posted by: Adnan Sacirbegovic | March 1st, 2008 at 1:37 am | Report this comment6980751398015745064&q=death+of+yugoslavia&total=112&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=2
To all those who are making some redicilous statements. There is Bosnia, there are Bosnian Muslims, I am very proud one of them, Bosnia is our country and the country of all other nationalities and religions who want to live in peace and prosperity that Bosnia is offering. Like always in the past, all those who are trying to inflict any damage on Bosnia will be defeted in blood. See you on the battlefied…you pathetic Cerb and Croat nationalists!
Posted by: Juka | March 4th, 2008 at 10:48 am | Report this comment@Juka - it amazes me that Bosniaks are exclusively the only group that keep opening the door to a multicultural bosnia despite being the victims throughout the ordeal, I guess its because they are the true masters of Bosnia and not insecure like the foreign invaders (ie) servi and hrvati
Not only are the terms Bosnian-croat/serb hybrid and invented terms of the 19th century but are also not natural and contradicting from start to finish. They naturally speak the Bosnian variant of the Stokavian dialect yet they import and train themselves to speak the beograd and zagreb variants…despite the fact their forefathers never spoke such variants. Then they shift gears and forbid the Bosniaks from calling their language “Bosnian” because it makes them seem like foreign invaders – this is one example of many on how contradicting the serb & croat identities have mutated into.
I think it becomes rather obvious to even the most primitive of amateurs that this serb/croat identity of Bosnia was invented only to expand neighboring borders which is why its as contradicting as the Bible.
Posted by: Adnan Sacirbegovic | March 4th, 2008 at 11:35 am | Report this comment