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Elliott School of International Affairs
Washington, May 10, 2006

Bosnia-Herzegovina:Ten Years After Dayton – On Its Way To Brussels

Sulejman Tihic, the Chairman of the B-H Presidency
(As prepared)

Mr. Director, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to express my pleasure with having this opportunity to address you today, at the prestigious George Washington University.

Bearing in mind that the Day of Victory over Fascism (VE Day) was celebrated worldwide yesterday and the day before, I wish to congratulate you on this great holiday. The United States of America had an enormous significance and a great role in the victory over fascism.

When we all believed that the fascism has been beaten forever, the evil happened again. Horrible crimes in their worst form were being repeated in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the period of 1992-1995, perhaps even worse then in the Second World War.

The Fascism was repeated! How do we call over 500 mass tombs and over 2500 joint tombs found so far other then fascism! If not fascism, then how to call hundreds of camps and thousands of destructed religious objects? Wasn't it fascism the ethnic territory cleansing and the persecution of over a million citizens from their homes and hundreds of thousands of demolished, burnt and ravaged houses?

This is a chance to thank the USA once again, which had had a decisive role in putting an end to a war and sufferings in B-H.

I thank you for helping to restore and establish a democratic and civil society in my country. The US is the largest individual donor with over one billion USD.

Some of your best sons, Ambassador Robert Fraser, Colonel Joseph Cruesel and Nielson Drew, gave their lives in the mission of establishing the peace in my country. We will remember them with gratitude.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It has been ten years since the end of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the signing of the Dayton Agreement. Bosnia-Herzegovina has come a long way - from a completely destroyed and war-ravaged country, to a country that has started negotiations with the European Union for signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement several months ago; a country that is certainly heading toward the EU and the NATO membership.

Bosnia-Herzegovina ten years ago, immediately after signing the Dayton Agreement

Towns, settlements, economy, infrastructure, communication, all devastated, damaged or ruined. Bosnia-Herzegovina is split with war, entity or other lines of separation. On the field, three conflicted and well-armed armies with around 500 thousand soldiers and 60 thousand members of international military forces. Three large police forces, far from any professional and democratic standards.

State borders are porous. The freedom of movement was limited. Crossing the entity lines was considered as an act of bravery.

The legal system of Bosnia-Herzegovina is split and more connected with neighboring countries then internally; and an intense presence and interference in the internal affairs from the neighboring countries.

Over 2.2 million in exile and refugees (more then half of population). Their property destroyed, devastated or usurped. Return was inconceivable, and those who dared to return put their lives and health in danger. Some were killed or wounded during such attempts.

The war criminals at large. The cooperation of a larger number of institutions (RS and the so-called Herceg-Bosna) with the Hague Tribunal almost inexistent. Over 27,000 missing persons.

The economic and social situation extremely difficult. Hundreds of thousands of pensioners, disabled veterans, families of shehits, killed and demobilized, and fighters without any kind of compensation. Those who were employed and receiving pay checks were rare, and pension funds were completely empty.

The State institutions were virtually inexistent, and those that were established did not function. At the same time, entities and other para-institutions acting as a State in a State.

Bosnia-Herzegovina today, ten years after

Today, ten years after, Bosnia-Herzegovina is indisputably a State and there are no any serious political forces anymore, in or outside of it, that could bring its territorial integrity and sovereignty into question. Additional responsibilities and numerous institutions have been established at the State level.

Significant progress in the return of the exiled and refugees has been achieved. According to the UNHCR data, over a million (around 50%) of the exiled and refugees have returned so far. Property taken, although often destroyed and devastated, has almost fully been returned. Freedom of movement has been ensured, including safeguarding the returnees. The returnees are still facing many problems, including unemployment, the right to health care, education, pensions, etc.

The return re-establishes the multi-ethnic structure of the country, which also strengthens the State of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The macroeconomic stability has been ensured, with inflation as in the European Union. We have the strongest currency in the region. Compared to the post-war period, GDP has been tripled. The foreign exchange reserves have been increased 15 times and they amounted to 2.2 billion EUR last year. We regularly pay off our foreign debt amounting to 2.1 billion EUR (around 20% of GDP). Our banking system has been consolidated. The industrial production and foreign investments are in a constant growth, and we have seen a constant growth in public revenues.

Bosnia-Herzegovina on its way to the Euro-Atlantic integration

The beginning of negotiations with the European Union in signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement represents the most important political event in our country after signing the Dayton Agreement ten years ago and signifies a definite transition of Bosnia-Herzegovina from the Dayton phase to the Brussels phase.

That was preceded by a completion of a great number of extremely difficult and complex reforms. Here, I would like to mention some of those: the border and the fiscal system reform, the establishment and development of a State Border Service, the unified Intelligence-security agency, the introduction of VAT, the PBS reform, the judicial system reform, etc.

We are conducting the defense system reform. Instead of the three mono-ethnic conflicted armies, we now have one multi-ethnic army. The entities no longer have any jurisdiction over that matter, and the State of Bosnia-Herzegovina has professional, unified and multi-ethnic armed forces, organized according to the NATO standards. The Armed Forces of Bosnia-Herzegovina today have 12,000 soldiers.

Only ten years ago, the world sent soldiers to our country, to help us to build peace and stability. Today, Bosnia-Herzegovina, within its powers of course, is sending its own soldiers to international peace missions. Our soldiers and police officers are today in Iraq, Liberia, Sierra Leona and some other areas in crisis.

The reform and adjustment of our armed forces to the standards of the North-Atlantic Alliance is going very well. Bosnia-Herzegovina has a real chance to join the group of countries that will become the full-fledged members of NATO in 2008.

Joining the European Union and NATO is the main priority of our foreign policy. It is also, the best way to establish a permanent peace and stability not only in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also in the entire region of the Southeastern Europe.

We hope that by the end of this year, we will have ended the negotiations and signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

We are fully aware that meeting the requirements for entering the European Union is primarily in our country's and our citizen's interest, so that we could ensure a prosperous future for our children and the future generations.

Therefore, we support the EU's insistence on meeting the set requirements strictly, as when it comes to Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as to other candidate countries. This especially refers to a request for an unconditional cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, i.e. arresting the war criminals still at large.

Here, I primarily mean arresting Karadzic and Mladic who are, besides Slobodan Milosevic, the personification of crime and sufferings in these areas.

The extradition of Karadzic and MLadic to the Hague Tribunal would finally close a war chapter of our history. It would enable hundreds of thousands of their direct and indirect victims to finally find peace and commit themselves to a normal life. Their arrest would surely set loose a new bulk of positive energy, as in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as in the entire region.

How we treat the war crime and criminal is the most important issue not just in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the entire region. It is not enough to arrest Karadzic, Mladic and other suspects indicted by the Hague Tribunal! It is necessary that the local administration of justice processes several hundreds (perhaps even thousands!) of other criminals. It is inadmissible that in today's Europe, or anywhere else in the world, that war criminals are being considered national heroes, and the crime being justified with the so-called ethnic interest! There is no excuse for that!

Gradually though, war crime awareness and the attitude toward criminals is changing. Besides the Hague Tribunal, the domestic courts are also processing war crimes. The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina has been established, its task is to take over a certain number of cases from the Hague Tribunal and process the most responsible ones for war crimes.

Around 12.000 missing persons have been exhumed from over 400 mass tombs found so far.

The process of meeting the requirements on our way to the European Union could be going even faster. The problem lies also in the existing constitutional structure of the country. Bosnia-Herzegovina has a dysfunctional and expensive political system, a weak State and strong entities.

We have started the process of constitutional reforms. We have achieved a political agreement of six largest political parties on modalities of the first phase of constitutional reforms. The Agreement was supported by the majority of citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the convincing majority of our Parliament's members. Unfortunately, we have not been able to achieve the two thirds of votes necessary for the change of the Constitution. Still, that has not disheartened us! The Constitutional reforms will be our obligation in the following period, because that is good for our country's future.

The relations with neighbors and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the region

I would like to say something about the relations with our neighbors and the situation in the entire region of the Southeastern Europe.

Bosnia-Herzegovina has fully understood the message from Brussels, which says that regional cooperation is a key for institutionalization of relations of our countries with the European Union. In that course, we are supporting the idea of establishing a free trade zone of the West Balkan countries.

Ten years after the end of the war, we have mostly normalized relations with both of our neighbors - Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Unfortunately, all the necessary agreements (the borders, the property-legal affairs) have not been signed.

We have full diplomatic relations with the both countries; we have signed a great number of bilateral agreements in various domains, including the agreements on free trade. Citizens of our three countries can travel to Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro with nothing but an ID card.

As you can see, a lot has been done. Parallel with the further contractual regulation of relations, I believe that it is necessary to intensify efforts for improving the infrastructural connection between our three countries. This is particularly because during the last 80 years, a unified infrastructure was being built within one joint country.

On this occasion, I would also like mention two open issues in our region: the upcoming referendum in Montenegro and the issue of resolving the Kosovo status.

When it comes to the referendum in Montenegro, I am convinced that both parties will fully comply with the rules established by the EU, and that there will not be any major problems, regardless of the result of the referendum.

The Kosovo issue is far more complex and that is why one should be more careful when it comes to solving it. Bosnia-Herzegovina finds that it should be solved through compromise and dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

However, we energetically reject any attempt of making any connection between the Kosovo status and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Any such attempt would directly jeopardize the peace and stability of the entire region and would impose unforeseeable negative consequences.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Equality, tolerance and respect for differences are the foundations of the modern democratic world and values that the European Union is based on, as well as the multi-century tradition of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Bosnia-Herzegovina is a place where four great monotheistic religions have met, bringing to our country and its citizens all the splendor of their cultures and traditions, as one of the rare autonomous European multi-ethnic societies.

In virtually every B-H city, side by side, for hundreds of years, stands a Catholic and an Orthodox church, a mosque, somewhere even a synagogue. Our peoples have learned to live in peace and tolerance together, and wars in our country were consequences of the world and/or regional wars, larger or minor interventions from the neighboring countries. Such was also the case in the period of 1992-1995.

This is why we are very proud of our differences and our multi-ethnicity, which we consider our greatest wealth and a comparative advantage. The uniqueness of differences, as a continuous process, is a part of living in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Among else, and perhaps even because of it, Bosnia-Herzegovina is one of the rare countries, which has very good relations with the European Union and the US, as well as with China, the Russian Federation and the Islamic world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Now, I would like to address you as a member of the B-H Presidency from the Bosniac people, i.e. as a Bosnian Muslim.

In today's world, more and more often we hear talk about the clash of civilizations and the impossibility of different religions' co-existence. In that context, Muslims are the ones being mentioned most often, especially after the terrorist attacks on the United States of America on September 11, 2001, and considering Islam to be a religion for terrorism.

Based on an example of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Bosnian Muslims, such theories are being discarded because they are unfounded.

The Bosniacs, i.e. the Bosnian Muslims, are autonomous European people practicing Islam for at least 600 years. After the withdrawal of the Great Turkish Empire from our territories 130 years ago, our people have been victims several times of mass crimes, genocide and persecution, especially during the two world wars and regional conflicts. The last instance of such demise of the Bosnian Muslims was in a period of 1992-1995, when over 10% of the Muslim population was murdered, i.e. around 70% of those killed in this war.

Even though we have suffered the most, we have never reached for retribution, especially not terrorism as a method of fighting. Terrorism is immoral and counterproductive. It is immoral because the innocent suffer, and it is counterproductive because it does not solve but complicate the problems.

Like war criminals and criminals, terrorists do not have any religion or nation. They are always only terrorists and criminals.

We, thank God, have defended our country and people in the past war; we have preserved our religious and cultural tradition, and stayed autonomous Europeans.

Regardless of the sufferings, we have survived, also thanks to our neighbors the Serbs - Orthodox and the Croats - Catholics. We have adjusted our religion of Islam - and our culture, to the environment and conditions we are living in, and that is why we are recognized in the world as Bosnian or European Muslims. Together with other B-H peoples and citizens, we are building our joint homeland, where everyone will be equal and free, regardless of their religious, ethnic or other memberships.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Although we sometimes complained about the West not stopping the war and genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina on time, still it was the West, lead by the United States of America that helped put an end and stopped further sufferings, especially of Bosnian Muslims, who were in the most difficult position. If it had not been for your engagement, the military intervention in B-H, everything would have been worse.

The United States of America, together with others, has stopped the genocide from happening in other places in Bosnia-Herzegovina, such as in Srebrenica.

I am not saying this only here, in the US, but everywhere and on every occasion. That is the truth, we appreciate it and we are grateful to you. The world needs to know it! I have already repeated this statement two times at the summits of the countries of the Islamic Conference Organization in Kuala Lumpur and Mecca, as well as during the official visits to Pakistan and Iran.

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, as in the United States, a vision of a modern, reintegrated, multi-ethnic state, based on equal opportunities and rights for all its citizens always wins. The citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina are successfully taking the historical test of co-existence of various religions and cultures. We are on our way to achieving it. Therefore, we still need your help and I hope you will provide it.

Thank you!