Who runs Bosnia?

[Ivo Skoric]

Sarajevo's newspaper Oslobodjenje (Liberation) published an article 
on December 20, 2003, about the visit of Bosnian minister of foreign 
affairs to Israel.

Despite objections by the chief of State (which in Bosnian case means 
the 3-headed presidency), Mladen Ivanic, Bosnian foreign minister, 
proceded with his unauthorized visit to Israel, leaving an open 
question about the chain of command within the Bosnian government.

Sulejman Tihic, a Bosnian Muslim constituent member of the 
presidency, and the representative of the SDA party, objected to 
Ivanic's visit on grounds that Ivanic, a Croat, and HDZ member, 
decided to meet only Israelis, refusing to meet Yaser Arafat. 

Tihic, probably rightfully, believes that such a visit will sour 
relations between Bosnia and Arab Muslim countries that helped Bosnia 
with money, arms, and, even, fighters, during the war 1992-1995.

However, another member of presidency, Borislav Paravac, a Serb, 
agrees with Ivanic's visit to Israel, and with his decision not to 
meet with Arafat. And the Croat member of the presidency, Covic, 
keeps silent on the issue.

This sad story underlines the sorry state of affairs in Dayton 
Bosnia. The reality is that the glorified peace agreement does not 
amount to more than a supervised cease fire between Bosnia's 
constituent peoples, whose political representatives continue to 
represent only their ethnic agendas with no regard to the national 
interest of the country as a whole.

One country, two entities, three peoples - and three separate 
militaries, three separate electrical power grids, three separate 
foreign policies, a total of 16 squabbling governments - and millions 
of displaced, dispossessed, deprivileged people at their mercy. 
Sometimes it seems that only people devoted to preserving the country 
of Bosnia are foreigners. That's why office of the high 
representative cannot be abandoned...

ivo