Schwarz-Schilling warns: Wrong decisions by the international community harm Bosnia and Herzegovina

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Former High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schwarz-Schilling warned on FACE TV that the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina is threatened by the very tolerance and attitude of the international community, which does not notice that it is precisely their wrong decisions that harm the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina even more.

He pointed out that the West's iron principle that new ethnic divisions must be avoided at all costs is no longer being applied. Schwarz-Schilling states that, according to all available information, the presidents of Kosovo and Serbia have reached an “agreement”: Kosovo will cede to Serbia the area north of Mitrovica with a majority Serbian population, while areas with a majority Albanian population in southern Serbia in the Preševo Valley will be ceded to Kosovo. Lobbyists have done their job well.

- This would bring Serbia EU membership, and Kosovo would be recognized and would get a seat in the United Nations General Assembly. Two of my former colleagues, Paddy Ashdown and Carl Bildt – former High Representatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina – together with me sent an “open letter” in August 2018 to EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini and warned that the Pandora's box of territorial exchange must not be opened. And that is because it plays into the hands of separatist-nationalist forces, not only in the region – especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina – but also in many other countries.

This would pave the way for even greater disruptions that rarely end without war. It is very surprising that European Union politicians in Brussels, who strictly reject the policy of changing borders along ethnic lines, today do not see this danger and consider such solutions possible. What reasons led to this? There are speculations that Trump is following an “agreement” with Putin on the division of influence in the Balkans between the two great powers, Russia and the USA.

According to the formula: Kosovo joins NATO, and Serbia remains under Russian influence, along with a clear rejection of NATO membership. In doing so, he destabilizes the region, especially Bosnia and Herzegovina, because the tone here is set by the political leader from Republika Srpska, now the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik. There are also speculations, particularly present in NATO circles, that Trump wants to see both countries, Kosovo and Serbia, in NATO but also wants to limit Russian influence in the Balkans. This could possibly be an explanation for the changed position of the EU - states the former High Representative.

Be that as it may, all that remains for me is to appeal to the Council of the European Union and the European Commission to invoke European values and remember the value system on which the EU is founded. If this does not happen, then we should not be surprised when, due to wrong political decisions, we are again faced with waves of refugees and the suffering of the hungry and poor. In the event of a wrong turn of events, it will not be the countries drawing new borders that will pick up the pieces in Europe, but the European Union!

- I already pointed out last year the dangers for the Balkans in the event of a territorial exchange and redrawing of borders along ethnic lines between Serbia and Kosovo. This particularly applies to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Dodik has been threatening for years with a referendum and secession of the RS. He recently clearly announced that, in the event that Kosovo is recognized by the UN, the RS will follow the same path. He goes so far as to now predict that Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina will also follow the same path.

In a similar way, the terrible war in Bosnia began in the 1990s. Now Dodik is drawing wrong parallels with Kosovo and announcing that he will achieve the goals of that time, this time even without war, he concludes.