Debate on BiH in NATO and British Parliament, Schmidt in Great Britain on Thursday

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The British Parliament will hold a debate on BiH on Thursday, December 2, in the context of the current political crisis and the undermining of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

The debate was initiated by Alicia Kearns, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for BiH.

High Representative Christian Schmidt will be in Great Britain that day and will hold meetings in Parliament, writes Patria. 

Kearns pointed out that the wounds of the only genocide in Europe since World War II have yet to heal, and they are being reopened by Milorad Dodik, with the support of Putin and China, strengthening Serbian nationalism.

"Nothing good will come of his threats, and it is time for diplomacy to move away from division, hatred, and secession immediately. Great Britain has a proud history of helping to end the war in Bosnia, and this debate is an important opportunity for all of us in Parliament to be united, in a common determination, that we will work to ensure that the Government of the United Kingdom, together with our NATO allies, does everything in our power to maintain peace in the Balkans," Kearns said.

The Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Kingdom, Vanja Filipović, welcomed the debate on BiH in Parliament.

"I welcome the fact that the British Parliament and NATO foreign ministers are discussing the situation in BiH, recognizing its seriousness and potential to incite violence. NATO has invested a lot in the peace, security, and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and must not allow the enormous progress to be reversed due to thoughtless politics of division and malicious foreign influence," Filipović emphasized.

Former British officer and former commander of the British battalion within the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces in BiH, Bob Stewart, who, with his troops, discovered the crime in Ahmići in April 1993, and is now a parliamentarian, said:

"I note that Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats would probably be happy to divide the country into two parts, which would leave 1.5 million Bosniaks Muslims homeless. I hope Parliament will recognize the gravity of the situation and take steps to preserve the peace we fought so hard to achieve," Stewart said.

Incidentally, this is the second debate on BiH in the British Parliament.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will lead a group of countries that have requested that the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina be discussed at the NATO ministerial summit held in Riga on November 30 and December 1.