Azra Zornić: Are Palmer and Eichhorst part of the problem?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Special US envoy for electoral reform in BiH Matthew Palmer and representative of the European External Action Service Angelina Eichhorst, with their return to Bosnia and Herzegovina, are encouraging ethno-nationalist leaders to insist on their fascist demands. It seems that the negotiation logic of this infamous duo relies on the principle of "appeasing" these demands in order to stop the open dismantling of BiH. Based on Sattler's report, which saw the light of day a long time ago, and with the help of rogue EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, Dodik and Čović, and with them Izetbegović, are getting what they want: Dodik gets state property (forests, rivers, agricultural land, etc.) which he can sell and give away at will while paving the way for secession; Čović gets a third entity through which he wants to ensure his own HDZ fiefdom; and Izetbegović will either be promised a new law against genocide denial and negation (which even he must know will be ignored), or perhaps a promise that he and his friends will not be added to any sanctions list.

By: Azra Zornić/Istraga.ba

Ordinary people anywhere – in Travnik, Trebinje, or Tomislavgrad – will of course get nothing, and will lose much more.

Following the disappointing visit of USAID Administrator Samantha Power, which combined vague declarative support for the civic option in BiH with advertising projects funded by US grants that neglect the real need for fundamental changes, everyone in BiH is asking who actually represents whom here and on whose behalf?

Sattler has been avoiding the Foreign Policy Committee's invitation to report on negotiations and electoral reform in BiH for a year. 30 MEPs have filed a request for an investigation against O. Varhelyi due to his close cooperation with Dodik. Therefore, it is clear to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina that all these "negotiators" are actually acting freely, working on striking dirty deals with ethno-nationalists to cover up failed policies – and for careerist reasons, not out of strategy or value-based policy.

The agreement between HDZ and SDA, mediated by the EU, US, and UK, signed in Mostar in 2020, represents a clear pattern for their current efforts. By applying the same pattern to the state level, they are trying to create the illusion of solving problems by appeasing ethno-national feudalism. The attempts of predatory neighbors (read aggressors) to divide the country led to fierce resistance from unarmed citizens during the war, as it will now in response to such attempts, but the citizens/defenders of BiH are now in a far more favorable position and have many more advantages compared to 1992-1995: After the aggression, thanks to the international community and the peace agreement, ethno-national party leaders "rode on the wings of victory." We will not allow their "victory" over us to be strengthened. All patriotic forces, both within the country and in the diaspora, are now united and determined to resist such policies and to change the situation in the country – both socially and systemically. After 26 years of apartheid rule, citizens have decided to send these national fascists to the dustbin of political history.

At the invitation of Romeo Franz, Chairman of the European Parliament Delegation for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, in my address on January 12th this year, I stated, among other things, the following facts:

"The three-headed nationalist hydra of BiH, led by Milorad Dodik, Dragan Čović, and Bakir Izetbegović, has been delineating its spheres of power for years, creating a kind of balance of power by agreeing on non-transparent political deals that were supposedly motivated by the interest of protecting the "constituent peoples" they claim to represent. But in reality, they have only consistently looked after their personal interests – to the detriment of the people and society as a whole. The result has been corruption and repression – against members of the opposition, and against anyone who wants to live in a responsible, democratic system based on rights. To protect their personal interests and stay in power, all three have secured the support of Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Turkey, and Russia. They have chosen sides and chosen an illiberal team.

The result is a machine for destroying initiative that is alarming Bosnians and Herzegovinians from all over the country to leave at an alarming rate.

While its activities within and on the border with Ukraine are motivated by Vladimir Putin's interest in ensuring that Ukraine is never able to advance as a responsible democracy – and therefore can never serve as a model that the people of Russia themselves could aspire to – the tensions serve an additional purpose. Russia actually wants to divert the attention of the US, EU, and UK from the situation in the Western Balkans. While analysts are divided on whether Russia wants to fight on its doorstep, others see the buildup of troops and weapons on the border with Ukraine as actions aimed at gaining an advantage in negotiations with the US/NATO, or to initiate an escalation that could facilitate the hybrid war it favors, its actions also facilitate its goals further west. Because while allies are concerned about Ukraine, Russia is deliberately carrying out a silent invasion of the Western Balkans. The following events testify to this.

At the last meeting between BiH Foreign Minister Bisera Turković (SDA – the main Bosniak nationalist party) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi, a consensus was reached on opening a Russian Center in Banja Luka. According to Turković, the adoption of a decision on opening other Russian "cultural-humanitarian" centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected.

A few years ago, such a Russian humanitarian center was opened in Niš, southern Serbia, with the purported purpose of rapid response in Serbia, and potentially in the region if emergencies requiring rapid humanitarian response arise. However, the center enjoys diplomatic status, which provides it with the potential for transporting supplies, and even personnel, leading some observers to view this as a sub rosa entry for armed forces (Putin's "little green men") – thereby questioning the credibility of Serbia's declared "military neutrality." For years, there has been concern that this strategy could be used in Banja Luka; now we see that it could happen, and without objection from the SDA Foreign Minister herself.

Negotiations on financing the construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway with the Russian state agency have also begun, mediated by the Turkish government, and the construction is expected to cost around 5.5 billion KM. Far-right extremist and ultra-nationalist Russian-rooted gangs have intensified their activities in RS, from the Night Wolves motorcycle gang to the paramilitary group Srbska Čast. And finally, one cannot forget his penchant for "religious diplomacy," with small funds for large Orthodox churches in Serbia and RS, which has a huge symbolic impact.

Such projects are a powerful tool for achieving Russia's local geopolitical ambitions, and Russia's most powerful geopolitical tool is certainly connecting Bosnia and Herzegovina to the TurkStream gas pipeline and related investments in the oil sector.

The US and some EU member states (such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scandinavian countries, the Czech Republic, Italy) actually advocate for the territorial integrity of BiH and want to impose sanctions on Dodik – and take other measures – to prevent further instability. The US has done so. However, internal disunity within the EU and a large and slow bureaucratic administration have hindered decisive action. All of this plays into the hands of European right-wing parties; Croatia, Hungary, and Russia openly support the policies of Dodik and Čović.

The British Parliament has at least called for the engagement of NATO troops (likely including their own) in response to potential military action. However, as during the aggression, the EU relies on useless statements and futile meetings aimed at appeasing pyromaniacs."

Following my address and that of my colleagues Sejdić and Finci, unlike all the MEPs who gave us full support, four of them, three from the ultra-right HDZ RH, tried to use their positions within the EU to continue presenting BiH as a country that does not deserve the same democracy that other countries in Europe value. They want to ensure that a certain class of people in BiH remains second-class citizens – forever – depending on who they are or where they live. Željana Zovko from BiH, former ambassador of BiH, was the loudest, most rude, and most vulgar of all. She threatened to call Božo Ljubić and the President of the Constitutional Court of BiH, Mato Tadić, to testify in their favor. These reactions, however, likely had the opposite effect of the desired one on most other MEPs. I personally experienced it as an attempt by desperate people to justify their incompetence to those who pay them for that job. Their nationalist stance is their only product, as they have nothing else to offer. The difference between them and us – citizens who do not have the undeserved privileges of these nationalist elites – is enormous. They do their dirty work for money and positions, while we honorably fight for a system built on values that we thought the EU itself supported and promoted. The only correct way to ensure democratization and the establishment of a truly responsible Bosnia and Herzegovina for all who live here is to implement the Zornić judgment. Only then can we begin discussions about a new social contract that we deserve in the 21st century, which will provide the basis for a new constitution, a law on state property, and an electoral law focused on citizens.

Finally, allow me to conclude with a message to the US and EU envoys Palmer and Eichhorst. After your last failed attempt, your return seems not only desperate but shows that you are committed to wrong and undemocratic, anti-European ideas. If you come to BiH with the same principles of non-transparent and non-institutional dirty deals about the future of our country where we live, you are guaranteed to fail – once again – and cause lasting damage to your reputation and that of those you represent.

As we see the games played by local predatory elites, and in the background of Vladimir Putin's amoral aggression against Ukraine, the message should be clear to our transatlantic friends. For Europe: remember what illiberalism did to the continent in the 20th century and why your dense network of value-based institutions was established. For the US: representatives of the Biden administration should act as American politicians, not as Balkan politicians. Use your energy to participate in the democratic emancipation of the political system, not in its suffocation.

Please be part of the solution, not part of the problem. And stop thinking that we in BiH and the region somehow deserve less responsibility, fewer opportunities, less participation, and less democracy, otherwise know that what you are doing in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be summarized in one single phrase: IT'S A FUTILE EFFORT.

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The author of the text, Azra Zornić, is a BiH citizen for whom the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg found that she was discriminated against in the electoral process because she declared herself a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina.