Sarajevo hosts International Conference on Dayton

A one-day international conference is being held in Sarajevo on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Numerous guests are attending the conference, under the slogan "20 Years of Peace, a way forward – 20 years of peace, further steps", and Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, addressed the attendees, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

Among the guests is Stjepan Mesić, former Croatian President.

The conference began with a speech by Bakir Izetbegović, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- Despite those who see the perspective of Bosnia and Herzegovina through entity division or federalization based on ethnic principles, a more rational approach and a different practice of interpreting the Dayton Agreement are more likely, meaning an internal evolution in BiH, according to which what Dayton gives will also provide a more positive content – Izetbegović stated.

- Over time, ethnic interest protections will decrease, but the protection of human rights and the judicial system, economic path, and prosperity will be paramount – he added.

- A century of wars has ended. A new century lies before us, with new opportunities and risks, and what it will look like depends on us, but also on the example we leave for future generations. We should be less burdened by the past and turn towards the future. The most we can do for young people is to emphasize tolerance, respect for others and differences, which is the message carried by the civilized world – Izetbegović concluded.

Mohamad: Peace brings prosperity

- Peace is important; peace is in the fundamental greetings of great religions. Many consequences remain after the war, not only in the economy but also in other spheres. Winners gain nothing but victory; it brings them nothing else. In wars, both winners and losers suffer, and hatred remains, and countries face great challenges of reconstruction. Peace is a much better way for a country to progress than war – Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad stated.

Speaking about Malaysian experiences, given that three different races, with three different religions and speaking three languages, live in that country, he said that everyone in Malaysia decided to leave that behind.

- We realized that if we kept reviving the past, we would achieve no peace because we would think about revenge, and revenge leads nowhere. Malays are the largest community, but Malaysia decided to share wealth with Indians and Chinese on a proportional basis to make the country larger and richer. Without that, we would not have succeeded – he added.

He also stated that peace was achieved in BiH 20 years ago, but development has not been as good as it should have been after such a long period of peace.

- I believe it is high time for BiH to look at its future differently. If all three national and religious groups decided to forget the past and turn towards prosperity, this country would move forward. The fact is that you were enemies, but you must live in peace and cooperation with the aim of developing your country, working on unity, and forgetting, if possible, all the atrocities that happened – Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad stated.

According to him, "there is no reason why peace in BiH should not be sustainable".

- I am convinced that Bosnians and Herzegovinians strongly value peace. We are interested in attracting investors and continuing to move in that direction, to help BiH recover so that citizens can enjoy the benefits that peace brings – he concluded.

(Aljazeera)