The former war-torn country of Bosnia falls slowly Forgotten. A mistake, says Norbert Mappes-Niediek, because of the conflict between Serbs, Croats, and Muslims, remains unresolved.
Not daily, but annually, the Groundhog greets in Bosnia. The country is falling apart!, it means regularly, maybe war will come again. The occasion is always – and again this year -that the strong man of the Bosnian Serbs, Milorad Dodik, threatens with something. A Referendum on the independence of the Serbian country, it is part time, the withdrawal of all Serb representatives and officials from the Central government. And now he’s threatening to respect majority decisions of the three-member presidency, in which he was just elected into, in the future, miss.
Dodik threatens, or similar, for full twenty years. Not but also has never changed something for the Worse, and that is the secret of recurring provocations, nothing for the Better. Every single one of the three “Nations” of the Four-million-state, Muslim Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats, fearing the dominance of the other two. The result is a far-reaching Blockade of their institutions, the airs only occasionally under considerable pressure. And it is the safe power guarantee for marmots, such as Milorad Dodik.
Boundless Suspicion
The fear in Bosnia in front of each other – and that is not wrong. In the war of 1992 to 1995, Serbs fought first against the allies of Bosniaks and Croats, then allies the Croats and the Serbs against the Bosniaks. In the meantime, a whole Generation has grown up much more thoroughly by nationality separately as each other in front of her. But even today, the fear of all of the Serbs but also the Croats, prior to the domination of others is not irrational.
In the distrust of The new three-member State presidency (from left): Zeljko Komsic, Milorad Dodik, Sefik Dzaferovic
The Serbs are not only in Bosnia, but in front of the whole world and the major European Supervisory powers as the moral loser. You are afraid of, even if you are for the war debt to jung, from discrimination and harassment. Only that it could come to war, we may confidently exclude. The country is too depressed. Before they could mobilize, grab young Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats prefer their things and then sit peacefully next to each other on the Bus to Stuttgart, Cologne, or Vienna.
Out of Frustration over the blockades and the toughness of the progress, not only in Bosnia-grass European politicians and diplomats fantasize under West again to old recipes – food for marmots. Wouldn’t it be better to get to the people, not separate groups, because you can Yes it is quite obvious that to each other? On benevolent interest in many Western countries about the advance of the presidents of Serbia and Kosovo met to exchange areas. Everything is easier if Serbs and Albanians are each among themselves, instead of stalking each other permanently? Clear statements, good friends: The Slogan is becoming more and more supporters, especially in Bosnia.
Neither a clear statement nor a good friendship
The ethnic groups in the country are separated de facto, long been largely. What you have yet to decide on jointly, and to administer, is far less than what EU States. And the country is a telling example of this is that the “clear statement” guaranteed to be anything other than a “good friendship”.
With his in the war by the “ethnic purity” of the Serbian part of the country not the least bit democratic. On the contrary, as Long as the various ethnic groups had to get along together, were institutions and democratic procedures are needed. Now, since the Serbs are in your part of the country is largely “under itself”, it is allowed to govern a Milorad Dodik his country as a Patriarchal father and his family: without objection, without serious Opposition. Not coincidentally, the strong man, therefore, comes in various constitutional offices – as the head of government of his Republic, as President, now as a Serbian member of the State Executive. And the country children on the move, an inter-ethnic provocation, and all gather again under the protection and umbrella of the great people’s father.
Not the chronic crisis of the state, but the refugee issue draws international attention to Bosnia
Ethnic divisions, the Bosnian example shows, will not solve anything – on the contrary. Also in the neighbouring countries of Serbia and Croatia, the conversion to the nation-state has not made the democracy to Bloom, the neighborhood peaceful. In Belgrade, a strong man, of the stitches with fine tuning of the needle against the Albanian-dominated Kosovo, again and again, the Power of giving, he needs ruled with Aleksandar Vucic. In the ethnically largely homogeneous Croatia nationalism and hatred of the now vanishingly small Serb minority still stronger than themselves in times of war.
Perspective Of Europe
The European Union’s power, the Bosnians of all three nationalities for any other approach to the condition, that you come only once under each other in a clear, strong institutions formed, as a state function. To discipline to Try to boycott your identify, especially the authoritarian Dodik, it has powers on the part of the European Supervision is not mangled. All of them are failed due to the fear mechanisms. Hopes that the next Generation could end the nightmare, right.
This is actually a call for new solutions. Instead of supporting further ethnic divisions, should Europe trust in Bosnia on his own solution approaches: Local conflicts into wider contexts, and thus relativize, variety, allow, individual rights, strengths. In a larger Whole, such as it was, the former Yugoslavia, have lived the Bosnians of all nationalities, largely free of friction. A United Europe could provide a new framework. Assuming it believes in itself.
Norbert Mappes-Niediek lives in Graz, Austria and Southeast Europe correspondent for many German-language Newspapers.