What does Pompeo need to know before arriving in Zagreb!?

By Rasim BELKO

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The news of the arrival of the most powerful man in Donald Trump's administration in Croatia resonated throughout the region last week. The head of Croatian diplomacy, Gordan Grlić Radman, made sure that the entire region knew that Mike Pompeo was coming to our neighboring country this week.

Even in the announcement, it is assessed that Pompeo is coming to Zagreb to cut off the paths of Russian and Chinese influence in a country that is a member of NATO and the EU.

According to some Croatian media, Pompeo's express announcement of his visit followed speculation that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was preparing to visit Zagreb.

The Americans' priority is the 5G network, i.e., to prevent China from entering Croatia, the port of Rijeka, where the Chinese are already entering, the Pelješac Bridge, and there are also the Russians with gas and other trade and economic ties on the Moscow-Zagreb route.

However, the Americans have their priorities, and the Croats have theirs. But why the announcements that Pompeo, as I said, the strongest figure in the current US administration, will discuss Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatian officials.

It is true that there are many in Croatian politics with birth certificates from BiH, but that does not give them even the slightest right to discuss BiH without BiH and its representatives. Did Croatian politicians want to poke the eye of BiH again with this announcement, or will there really be discussions about BiH, we will see.

If there are to be discussions about BiH in Zagreb, Pompeo should know a few important things about the internal instabilities in BiH.

We hope that the US diplomatic corps in the Balkans will inform him about it. For example, before arriving in Croatia, Pompeo should be informed that in one sub-state entity, the government is led by a man for whom there is testimony that he directly participated in war crimes and genocide.

Pompeo should also be informed that individuals on the US Blacklist, some of whom he himself has placed there, are undermining the constitutional order and eroding the Dayton Peace Agreement that America created.

The main bulldozer that is eroding Dayton and doing everything to keep BiH in the backwaters of integration and a black hole of the modern world is Milorad Dodik.

Pompeo should know this even without being informed, but still, it would be worth it for Ambassador Nelson to mention it to him first.

The US Secretary of State should know, before landing at 'Franjo Tuđman' airport, that the current policy of Bosnian Orthodox Serbs in the top state bodies for fighting corruption is pushing a person whom Pompeo himself placed on the Blacklist, banning him and his family from entering the US. Of course, this refers to Nikola Špirić.

However, anti-Bosnian and Greater Serbian policy is not the only internal problem of BiH. The apartheid practiced in various corners of this country is also an important issue.

What we can assume with great certainty, and what has been announced in a way, is that Andrej Plenković, the Prime Minister of Croatia, and Gordan Grlić Radman, the head of diplomacy, will try to explain the problem of the Croatian issue in BiH to Pompeo from their perspective.

Plenković's speech at the UN on unpacking and repacking Dayton also went in that direction. Of course, Plenković wants an Election Law tailored to Dragan Čović. It is not disputed that BiH Catholics in BiH, who call themselves Croats, have the right to elect and be elected. What is disputed is that, for example, under the Election Law advocated by Plenković and Čović, Bošo Skopljaković, a Croat from the heart of Bosnia, will never be able to enter the Presidency of BiH.

Constituent status is an inappropriate and unknown practice in the democratic world. European court rulings in lawsuits against BiH clearly define this. And even Bosnian Serbs and Croats were against constituent status when voting in the Constitutional Court of BiH.

Someone should provide Pompeo with all these details more thoroughly, explain to him that Croatia is directly interfering in the internal affairs of BiH.

The announcement says that Bakir Izetbegović and Dragan Čović will be in Zagreb today. The leaders of SDA and HDZ, members of the collegium of the State Parliament, are going to see Plenković.

For Čović, it's more or less understandable, but Izetbegović has made a political mistake again. Just five days earlier, Izetbegović publicly stated that he would not go to Zagreb, but in the end, he went.

Because, whatever he tells Plenković, it will only give him legitimacy to discuss BiH with a representative of the world's most powerful government. Another mistake, nothing unusual.

In the end, the best assessment of this meeting and Bosnia in its focus was given by international relations analyst Branimir Vidmarović in a statement to the portal Direktno.

"BiH is an old issue. In fact, nobody knows exactly how to approach solving this issue, and I wouldn't be surprised if in the future, if Trump wins the election, the US has some kind of peace 'deal' planned. BiH is actually a black hole. That country has no influence, no economic or political position, but the interests of several countries intertwine there... Americans, if they talk about it, will talk about the security and political aspect of BiH becoming more involved in the Western circle and the Western vision of development, because BiH is at a standstill, it's not going anywhere and it needs to be moved. Perhaps an American 'push' would be welcome here," said Vidmarović.

And if that 'push' Vidmarović talks about comes, talk about legitimate representation, constituent status, figures from the Blacklist and their ilk will be a thing of the past. Because, if America pushes BiH towards Western circles, the sun of true democracy will shine on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sejdić and Finci will also be happy.

Let someone just explain the real situation to Pompeo, before the Chinese and Russians bring us something new....