Random Bosnian Thoughts

"Loddar" to become new coach of Bosnia's soccer team

According to today's Nezavisne Novine, Lothar "Loddar" Matthäus", German record soccer player, is to become the new coach of the BiH soccer team, as successor to Fuad Muzurovic.

The decision is to be finalised on Friday's meeting of the executive board of the Bosnian National Soccer Association.

Bogdan Ceko. vice president of the Bosnian Soccer Association, said that allthe details already had been clarified - should the Association decide for Matthäus, the contract could be signed within five minutes.

While very successful as a player, Matthäus' carreer as a coach gives a mixed impression:

In December 2002 he was hired by Partizan Belgrade in mid-season to replace recently sacked Ljubiša Tumbaković. Matthäus achieved the required success by steering the team to the 2002/03 title, but his finest hour with the club came in August 2003 when Partizan eliminated favourites Newcastle United in the 3rd qualifying round to reach the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League. Though drawn in a tough group with powerhouse Real Madrid, eventual champions FC Porto, and Olympique de Marseille, Partizan played some inspired football that autumn, only narrowly missing out on the UEFA Cup spot.

In December 2003, Matthäus made an abrupt announcement about leaving his post at Partizan only to follow it the next day with another of signing on to coach the national squad of Hungary. A country once synonymous with world class football was trying to return its national team on the path of former 1950s glory, and Matthäus was given the task of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After being drawn in a tough group with Sweden, Croatia and Bulgaria that goal looked increasingly difficult. The campaign started in the autumn of 2004 and fairly quickly it became obvious Hungary were in over their heads. However, Matthäus was not fired until the end of the campaign, and was even offered Hungarian citizenship, which he at the time said he would accept. There's no word whether he actually did.

On 11 January 2006, Matthäus signed a one-year contract to coach Atlético Paranaense of Brazil. However, after only 7 matches in charge (5 wins, 2 draws) he quit the club in March 2006 citing the need to be closer to his family. The way he left the club raised some questions about his professionalism. Apparently, only 5 weeks after signing a contract he informed club officials about a need to rush back to Europe in order to deal with an urgent personal problem, but assured them he'd be back in 3-4 days. After missing for two weeks, he faxed in his resignation and never even went back to Brazil to pick up his personal belongings.^[3]

On May 19, 2006, Matthäus was announced as coach of Red Bull Salzburg (formerly Austria Salzburg) for the 2006/2007 season. The Austrian Bundesliga side named Giovanni Trapattoni as their sporting director on the same day. Notably, Trapattoni coached Matthäus in the late 1980s (when at Internazionale) and from 1994-1996 and 1997-1998 (when at Bayern Munich). Despite co-leading the team to the Austrian league title by a large margin, Matthäus would eventually be fired on June 12, 2007 by unanimous decision of the Red Bull Salzburg's board of directors.

He is without a job in the moment.

Kosovo's doubtful future - Serbs to make up their minds

The meeting ended up going exactly as expected. The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday came together yet again to address the future of Kosovo. And since a series of UN-sponsored negotiations ended with no agreement earlier this month, all that was left was for the main protagonists to present their irreconcilable positions one last time.

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's contribution was an appeal to international law. "Will, for the first time in UN's history, a decision be taken -- contrary to the will of a democratic state and, what is more, of a UN founding member -- to redraw its internationally recognized borders, to abolish its internationally recognized sovereignty and to amputate 15 percent of its territory?" he asked.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu countered with a plea that the final status of Kosovo, 90 percent of whose residents are ethnic Albanians, be determined sooner rather than later. "We are exhausted after nearly two decades of isolation, war and political limbo," Sejdiu said. "Lack of clarity about our status has held back our economy, discouraged international investment and prevented us from accessing international financial institution lending."

But nobody quite knows what will happen next. The European Union has rushed to find a common position on handling the Serbian province, which has been administered by the UN since 1999. Most EU member states are prepared to recognize a declaration of independence by the province. On Thursday, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country takes over the rotating European Union presidency on Jan. 1, said that an independent Kosovo is inevitable.

"The EU and Kosovo have to agree what to do next in a reasonable manner and without any blackmail," he said. "It's clear that certain processes cannot be held back."

Rupel also threw a carrot Belgrade's way, suggesting that the criteria for Serbia's entrance into the European Union be relaxed. The country's accession has long been dependent on handing over Ratko Mladic and other Balkan war criminals to the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Rupel pointed to the fact that Croatia was allowed to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement -- a precursor to EU accession -- before it had turned over all those wanted by The Hague. The same standard should hold true for Serbia, Rupel said on Thursday.

"It is not a matter of being more tolerant of former Yugoslav (war) crimes," Rupel said according to the German news agency dpa. "We are talking about the stability of the Western Balkans."

But it is unclear whether Belgrade even wants closer association with the EU. Tomislav Nikolic, head of Serbia's ultranationalist Radical Party, suggested on Wednesday that the Russians be allowed to build a military base inside Serbia -- and some would like to see closer ties between Belgrade and Moscow. Russia has consistently backed the Serbian position on possible Kosovo independence. According to recent polls carried out ahead of the Serbian presidential elections set for Jan. 20, 75 percent of Serbs say that the country should not trade Kosovo for EU membership.

The polls, though, also reveal a deep split in the country. Even as Serbs want to hang on to Kosovo, 69 percent of them likewise are in favor of joining the EU. In the current campaign for the presidency, Nikolic is virtually even in the polls with the pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic. Some 75 percent of Nikolic's supporters favor alignment with Russia, according to Reuters, whereas 90 percent of Tadic's supporters want to join the EU as soon as possible.

Kosovo has indicated that it will wait until after the Serbian elections to declare independence in an effort to avoid driving Serbs toward Nikolic. With UN-sponsored negotiations at an end, however, such a declaration now seems just a matter of time.

EU to offer Serbia swift entry

European leaders are prepared to offer Serbia "accelerated" membership of the EU as a carrot for accepting the independence of Kosovo, it was reported today.

The EU summit in Brussels today is expected to devote at least two hours to wrangling over a declaration of independence, which could be issued by the ethnic Albanian leadership within weeks.

A plan drafted this year by the Finnish UN envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, called for an 1,800-strong EU nation-building mission to implement independence but it has been rejected by Serbia, effectively vetoed by Russia, and there are also concerns within the EU.

European leaders plan to issue a statement urging Belgrade to give high priority to meeting conditions so that "progress on the road towards the EU ... can be accelerated", reported the Associated Press.

Diplomats told AP that some EU member states interpreted the statement as an offer for fast-track EU membership for Serbia but without setting a date.

EU leaders will declare that the status quo in Kosovo "is unsustainable", and the statement urges the UN, Serbian and Kosovan leaders to find a solution and refrain from violence.

Meanwhile, the EU's largest four member states are pushing to impose and oversee independence in Kosovo without a fresh UN mandate.

In a letter to European leaders at today's summit, David Miliband (pic to the right), the UK foreign secretary, and his counterparts from Germany, France and Italy, have demanded that the 27 EU governments "send a clear message on Kosovo" by agreeing to dispatch the EU nation-building mission.

The letter despaired of Russia assenting to the plan by backing a new mandate at the UN security council. It called on the EU to proceed on the basis of the security council resolution governing the UN protectorate in Kosovo after Nato drove out Serbian forces there in 1999.

Preparations for the EU mission to Kosovo, replacing the UN, are far advanced within the office of Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy coordinator.

EU officials say the mission could be dispatched "tomorrow" if a green light were given. But the 27 member states remain split over Kosovo despite months of trying to reach consensus.

The EU's big four, who along with the US and Russia comprise the "contact group" that sets international policy on the Balkans, will be the first, along with the Americans, to recognise Kosovo statehood after its ethnic Albanian leadership declares independence.

The letter, which is addressed to the Portuguese government, asked today's summit to pave the way for imposing independence early next year by declaring that: talks between Serbia and Kosovo finished; Kosovo's status has to be decided "urgently"; and the EU would play a "leading role in implementing a settlement".

There are to be further talks at the security council next week, with Moscow and Belgrade demanding more time for talks between Serbian and ethnic Albanian leaderships.

However, foreign ministers of the EU's big four, said: "We need to be realistic about the slim prospects of securing the necessary level of consensus in the security council."

Several EU states, notably Cyprus, Greece, and Slovakia, remain opposed to recognising an independent Kosovo without Serbia's agreement.

Other countries, such as the Netherlands, are worried about the international legal basis for the plan outlined by the four governments. A meeting of EU ambassadors last week in Brussels showed a consensus behind the plan of only around 16 out of 27, sources said.

There is general agreement that the EU mission could be deployed on the basis of security council resolution 1244, which set the terms for Kosovo at the end of the Nato-Serbia war in 1999. Although the Serbs have not controlled Kosovo since, the resolution acknowledged Belgrade's sovereignty.

Speaking of the EU plan, Sir John Sawers, the British ambassador to the UN in New York, said. "I don't think the security council ... will be able to reach agreement on the way forward, in which case other organisations will have to take the responsibilities."

Decision in the last minute

Literally at the very last moment the parties in the parliament of Bosnia and Hercegovina agreed upon amendments to their rules and procedures, as proposed by the High Representative, to avoid permanent parliamentary stand-offs.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajčák today welcomed the decision of both Houses of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina to bring their Rules of Procedure in line with the Constitution.

“This is a good day for Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens. Parliamentarians have reached an agreement that meets the requirements that I set out on 19 October”, Lajčák said. The adopted amendments are fully in line with the Constitution and the possibility to block the work of the Parliament by not attending sessions has been, to the extent possible, eliminated. It means that elected representatives must come to work and earn their salaries.

“This agreement opens the door for the BiH institutions to return to the European agenda and formally adopt the Action Plan for Police Reform. This would bring Bosnia and Herzegovina back to European integration process”, the HR/EUSR concluded.

Interview with the High Representative on constitutional standoff

It could be seen in the media throughout the region: Bosnia seems to be in the deepest crisis since the end of the war in 1995. President Nikola Spiric has resigned, and the entities seemingly cannot come to any conclusion regarding a constitutional standoff.

Belgrade radio station B92 ran an interview with High Representative Miroslav Lajčák:

High Representative Miroslav Lajčák, speaking excellent Serbian, told a B92 journalist via video link from Sarajevo that the deep political crisis currently shaking Bosnia has been "artificially created".

B92: As you know, the latest measures introduced by the High International Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina have caused great political tension, especially in the Republic of Srpska. The chairman of the Council of Ministers, Nikola Špirić, has resigned, while tensions are also high on the High Representative – Serbian Government front. High Representative Miroslav Lajčák is speaking for B92 TV's Poligraf. Mr. Lajčák, good afternoon, thank you for your time, I hope the satellite links will be good since the political ones aren't so great between Sarajevo and Belgrade.

Lajčák: Good afternoon, Belgrade, I hope so too.

B92: Before we look at the essence of the measures you have introduced, I would first like to ask for your comment on the resignation tendered by Mr. Špirić, does the government exist at this point, can this move jeopardize the existence of the ruling coalition?

Lajčák: Mr. Špirić's decision to resign is within his rights, [it's] his personal decision. I think that at this moment, in this situation, this is not good for the country, and I'm not sure there is reason for it, but I respect his decision. However, I think it is necessary for the institutions to function, and it that sense for further political activity to continue. I would also like to stress that there is no reason for panic, since the government continues to function in its technical mandate, and continues to do its work.

B92: The government continues with its work as you say, but the global media, I won't even mention the media in Serbia, such as The Independent, speak about the deepest political crisis in Bosnia since the end of the war in 1995.

Lajčák: You know what – if there is a crisis then it's artificial. You said that the crisis was caused by my measures, and I disagree with that. The crisis was caused by inordinate reaction to my measures, and by some reactions from Belgrade, which have certainly not been helpful. I would like to remind you that these measures are completely in line with my mandate, completely in line with this country's constitution, completely in line with the Dayton agreement, and that this is not only my opinion, but also that confirmed by all Peace Implementation Council member states, which, as you know, met on the political directors level this Tuesday, or Wednesday in Sarajevo.

Precisely this is one of the important conclusions, that my measures, from the legal point of view, are absolutely legitimate, in line with my mandate and the constitution. Therefore, I would like to ask for a more careful approach by anyone who wishes to speak about their position, since they need to consider the facts, and not what they wish to there to be.

B92: You said, all countries, I believe Russia is not in agreement over what you just talked about. But let's just mention this, you have in effect changed the constitution of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which is what caused this avalanche of reactions, you changed the quorum rule and the decision-making process, you have introduced a simple majority for adopting decisions, which no longer requires agreement from at least two representatives from each of the three nations, now one vote is sufficient, while a quorum is present whenever the majority of ministers is present. In Serbia, and in the Republic of Srpska, and President Boris Tadić spoke about this yesterday, for the principles to change, according to the Dayton agreement, all three nations in Bosnia need to reach consensus first.

Lajčák: Well, it's quite a bit shocking, the amount of factual errors in your position…

B92: I only relayed what the positions are.

Lajčák: Well, then, the positions you are relaying are wrong. Firstly, Russia also agreed that my decisions are in line with my mandate, in line with this country's constitution and the Dayton agreement. Russia views this in a different way in a political context, and it expressed this, but not in a legal sense, which is a very important fact for all those who wish to accuse me of breaching the constitution.

Secondly, it is not true that I changed the constitution. I am not a cowboy, I am not an irresponsible man. I am full and well aware of the fact that one of the key principles for Bosnia-Herzegovina to exist is the protection of the interests of the entities, and protection of vital national interests of each of the three constitutive peoples, and no one could ever force me to change that, because that would then really mean a destruction of the system.

I have changed the rules on the manner of operating, because right now, you may or may not believe this, but right now, you vote against by not showing up at a session. And this is bad. You should attend and vote against. But, there isn’t any way to have any of the constitutive peoples outvoted, if they take part in the work, and not only if they take part in the work. Therefore, it would be a good idea, before positions on this are made known to the public, to read what I have said, for my partners to acquaint themselves with legal interpretation of all this. Once again, I must categorically reject any claim that I have changed the constitution, because I did not.

I have changed the rules of procedure. The only goal is to have these institutions function better, for them to have less room for obstruction, for ministers and MPs to arrive to work, because today they vote against by not showing up for work. No one, except those who do not care about Bosnian institutions' functioning, can have a problem with that. And another thing: all three peoples in Bosnia-Herzegovina are equally sensitive about protecting their national interests, this is normal. If it were true that I had changed the constitutional principle of protection, then not only Serbs, but Bosniaks and Croats too, would have huge problems with that. And they don't. Because they did not misinterpret my decisions. Once again-

B92: Maybe that is just a matter of tactics, you know. Maybe they let the Serbs do the job for them? Can we interpret it that way?

Lajčák: We cannot interpret it that way. There is no tactics involved with constitutional protection of vital national interests. Let's get serious.

B92: In other words, you believe that you have not opened the door to possible outvoting, as many in RS think, as Belgrade thinks? Outvoting of the Serb people?

Lajčák: There is not a single way for the representatives of the Serb nation to be outvoted, my legal experts are already involved in talks with the Republic of Srpska representatives, precisely with the goal of demonstrating that there is not a single reason for anyone to be afraid that any nation, including the Serb nation, could be outvoted. Once again, I will repeat, I am not a trivial man, I am not a cowboy, to change constitutional principles that Bosnia is built on, and no one can seriously think that I would do such a thing.

B92: Mr. Lajčák, the British ambassador in Serbia has, on behalf of five countries, sent a demarche to the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you yourself have angrily commented on the prime minister [Koštunica] statements. How come the international community does not react when, for instance, the Croatian president calls for a revision of Dayton?

Lajčák: You know what, it is up to me to do my job, which is currently that of the high representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina. I have said that I have respect both for the mandate and responsibility of the Republic of Serbia premier, and I have a personal feeling of respect for Mr. Vojislav Koštunica. I don’t thinks it's unfair to ask the same in return. I think that internationalization of these sensitive issues is certainly, certainly counterproductive, something no one needs. If anyone has any questions, we will not regret spending time and energy to clarify everything.

B92: But, the Serbian prime minister, political parties in Serbia, and Serbia, are entitled to comment on events in Bosnia-Herzegovina, according to the Dayton agreement, Serbia has special relations with the Republic of Srpska, and after all, Serbia is one of the guarantors of peace in Bosnia?

Lajčák: You know what I miss in these statements? Precisely the phrase, Bosnia-Herzegovina. They always talk about the Republic of Srpska, which is a legitimate entity within Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it would be much, much more useful if those statements that come from Belgrade accepted the fact that the Republic of Srpska is a part of a state called Bosnia-Herzegovina.

B92: You have spent a lot of time in Belgrade, in Serbia, you know most of the politicians here. Do you really believe that someone in Belgrade wishes to separate the Republic of Srpska from Bosnia and annex it to Serbia, after the experience of war and the horrors that we had in the past 15 years?

Lajčák: I do not think that, and that's why I find it strange to hear these odd statements coming out, it would be much better if there were productive and useful statements instead. And let me ask you something back, because I have spent a lot of time in Serbia, people there know me: do you really believe that anyone in Serbia could seriously think of me as an enemy of Serbia, the Republic of Srpska and the Serbian people?

B92: No. But many wonder, actually, many know that you are not there as a private person, you are there on behalf of the international community, which, in a way, really brings the Serbs into a kind of frustration, what must be well known to you. The international community and the U.S. on the one hand propose a partition of Serbia and independence for Kosovo, while on the other they insist on Bosnia as a unitary state? That, you know, is a frustration that everyone must take into account.

Lajčák: I am aware of these frustrations, they are huge, and they are for the most part justified, I understand that. You're right, I do not make my decisions as a private person, I am a representative of the international community, and each move is a result of intensive consultations with the international community.

However: I have my personal honor and dignity. No one could ever force me to make any move that is detrimental to this country, or any of the three constitutive peoples. You can be sure about that, and you can lean on me, that there is no such force that could make me do what I disagree with. My mission that I truly believe in, is to help Bosnia-Herzegovina to function as a state, respecting the constitutional basis, respecting the fact there are two entities and three peoples, and do all I can to have this country join the process of European integrations.

B92: Mr. Lajčák, you have always maintained that Bosnia, Kosovo, and Serbia's EU future are not mutually connected issues. Now, it's extremely hard to say that these three are not connected, since you made your decisions ahead of the solving of the Kosovo problem. Let me be even more blunt and direct, many circles in Serbia see your moves as preventive, to remove any idea that the Republic of Srpska might be taken out of Bosnia to join Serbia?

Lajčák: I am of course aware that conspiracy theories are very popular in this part of the world, and it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I can personally assure you, and you can, if you like, believe me, that Kosovo has never even crossed my mind. I was thinking about timeframes, we don’t have time to waste if Bosnia-Herzegovina is to become functional, and this has no regional context.

Kosovo is a problem apart, that has its own mechanisms and instruments, Bosnia is a country that has its own challenges. My mandate and responsibility is to help it function better,” the high representative stated. In that sense, I must categorically reject all those paranoid suspicions that this is part of some wider international conspiracy. I certainly would not be part of any regional conspiracy, not against anyone.

B92: Are you considering sacking officials in the Republic of Srpska, or do you see a way to have your measures enforced, while the Republic of Srpska, despite your claims that you did not change the constitution, receives clearer and firmer guarantees that its sovereign presence in the Bosnian institutions will be present, in other words, that it will not be outvoted when it comes to the most important topics?

Lajčák: I do not wish to think about dismissals, what I am thinking about is overcoming this situation, removing all misunderstandings and misgivings. We are working toward this goal. On Wednesday, my legal experts and those from the Republic of Srpska met, on Monday that process will continue. Each time, the space for misinterpretation narrows.

I don't want anyone to lose or win, I want to dispel all doubts, I want it to be absolutely clear is that my measures are good for the Bosnian citizens, therefore also the citizens of the Republic of Srpska. Another thing I wish for very much, is to once again return to the subject of Europe. I believe that the Mostar Declaration is a good step forward, while we need to continue with more concrete steps, and this is what I will fight for.

B92: Miroslav Lajčák, High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Thank you for the time you dedicated to B92 TV viewers.

Lajčák: Thank you.

Banja Luka: protests against reforms

A protest rally was held on Monday, 29 October, at Krajina Square in downtown Banja Luka, organised by a SPONA, an association of non-governmental, but also pro-government organisations in Republika Srpska, against the High Representative of the International Community in Bosnia & Herzegovina, 44-year-old Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak.

Some 10,000 people gathered for the rally to protest against the changes that Lajcak adopted on 19 October in the decision making process of the Council of Ministers, which is in fact the Government of Bosnia & Herzegovina, and in the joint Parliament of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The changes where introduced by Lajcak in order to facilitate the work of the two common state institutions in Bosnia & Herzegovina, whose work is very poor, who in fact do not work at all, mostly because of a lack of quorum, and that again because of the absence of representatives from the Republika Srpska. Only a dozen laws have been passed over the past year.

Lajcak adopted the changes after the most crucial talks recently led between the representatives of the three peoples of Bosnia & Herzegovina fell through. The negotiations were aimed at abolishing the entity police forces and to organise the police at the federal level. The representatives of Republika Srpska opposed the move and derailed the negotiations.

As the representative of the international community in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Lajcak has wide-sweeping powers: he can dismiss and official and adopt any kind of law on his own – but what he did on 19 October was entirely benign. He simply adopted measures whereby he wished to compel members of Government and Parliament to be present at sessions by changing the rules of that body so that decisions could be adopted without those absent. But in Republika Srpska they have depicted these measures of his as if they, at the very least, abolished the Republika Srpska.

Milorad Dodik, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, has in particular begun to clamour against Lajcak. The former merchant from Laktasi near Banja Luka was not a part of the clique of war criminals around Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, but did get rich at the time. Later on – precisely because he was not on of Karadzic's people – the Western countries backed him as the man for the post of prime minister and he – alternatively in power and out of it, thanks to his quarrelsome nature – became the key politician in Republika Srpska.

Dodik first started yelling at Lajcak demanding he withdraw his measures, falsely claiming that Lajcak thereby made it possible for the representatives of the Bosnians and Croatians to outvote the Serbs, which is untrue, because the Serbs cannot be outvoted if they turn up for the sessions. He threatened to withdraw his representatives from the joint institutions of Bosnia & Herzegovina, and he will be followed in that move by the representatives of other parties both in power and in the opposition in Republika Srpska, that have as one stood with him. There were other threats, for example that the People's Assembly of Republika Srpska would withdraw all powers it had in previous years transferred to the joint institutions of Bosnia & Herzegovina, and that it would demand that the powers of the High Representative be revoked, which is an absurd threat because these authorities do not depend on Republika Srpska.

In Republika Srpska all Serbian parties and most of the press, the Republika Srpska Radio & Television Company in particular, has stood by Dodik. Veterans' and concentration camp internees' associations, and even the union have made their voices heard, and the Republika Srpska railway workers' union has even organised a five-minute protest strike. The SPONA association has come on board and organised protests against Lajcak in all larger townships in the Republika Srpska, and in so doing have revived the practice of organised "spontaneous peoples' events".

The central rally in Banja Luka was special in one detail. Along with the usual banners accusing the international community of a conspiracy against the Serbs, and those deriding Lajcak as their lackey, there were also many pictures of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is particularly significant, since it shows the - again - closer connection between Russia, Serbia and Bosnia's Serb Republic, a connection that also pertains to the current Kosovo crisis.

Bosnian Police reform failed again

Bosnia’s politicians failed to agree on the reforms at last-ditch talks designed to bring Bosnia closer to the EU.

After missing an earlier deadline on September 30, Thursday’s talks among the main political parties of Bosnia Herzegovina were seen as the last opportunity to agree on police reform – a precondition for concluding a treaty with Brussels - ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.

“We were hoping for a miracle, but a miracle didn’t happen,” the top international official in Bosnia, Miroslav Lajčak, told media.

He warned that he would be informing the EU of the failure when the new deadline runs out on October 15.

“We don't have an agreement, we don't have a chance, a hope for an agreement, and we don't have a chance that this country is going towards Europe”, Lajčak told media after the meeting.

“This is a decision by political leaders who think it is better to reject agreement, and this is the message that Bosnia-Herzegovina is sending today to Europe.”

No details emerged from the meeting of Bosnia’s eight governing parties which ended on Thursday evening.

Representatives of countries and international institutions engaged in Bosnia’s post-war reconstruction, the so-called Peace Implementation Council, PIC, will meet by the end of this month to discuss progress in the reform agenda and what measures to take, in case no agreement is reached on police reform.

Bosnian police reform: a closer look

The Dodik-Silajdzic police reform agreement proclaims to respect EU’s three principles for police reform. Let us consider whether that is really the case - and find out why it is widely rejected by the International community.

Section V: “The territorial jurisdiction of regional centers will coincide with the territorial jurisdictions of the current regional, and cantonal prosecutorial districts within the entities and the Brcko District.” Well that is clearly a violation of the principle requiring functional police regions. This formulation respects the entity line, which is a very non-functional construct. For example, Sarajevo, and East Sarajevo would be parts of different police regions, even though the entity line even passes right through residential buildings in the Dobrinja neighborhood of the city.

Section XII defines the budget, which is to be appropriated by a decision of the Parliament, but then it is divided into lower levels that are supposed to actually decide how to use the money. That is a clear violation of the principle of budgeting on the state level, because that principle is intended to put the state in control of the money, which means control of how money is spent, and not simply control of where the money comes from.

This way, all the abuses by the entity police from before can continue because the state will still not be able to use the power of the purse to set specific plans for the local police forces to follow.

Section VII defines a “council of directors” at the state level. That council is only a body that manages cooperation between the entity police forces. As proposed, it is not a body that holds power over the entity police forces, but one that derives its powers only from the consent of the entities. In addition to giving it only coordination type role, Silajdzic and Dodik also propose that decisions within it are made based on entity and ethnic consensus. The RS and FBiH, and Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks can all put in a veto on any decision and completely paralyze this body. Therefore, all the ethnic and entity politics have to be considered in order to make any minor decision having to do with the simple coordination and cooperation of the two entity police forces. That has to be a violation of the principle of police that is independent of politics. And it is certain that such a police structure would not be functional at the state level.

Furthermore, there are also entity level police councils (Section IX) that are “independent”. They are chosen by entity parliaments, so they are really not independent of entity politics. They are instead independent of the state, and because the RS parliament is dominated by a single ethnic group, those councils are also not burdened by the consensus principle. Silajdzic and Dodik have created functional entity police forces, and dysfunctional state-level coordination between those police forces.

This agreement violates the spirit and the letter of the three principles mandated by the EU. If the EU approves this, it will pull into its borders all the current problems with a police force that has been judged as having committed genocide, and represents institutional corruption and abuse of human rights.

But for the Bosnian people, this agreement holds many more poison pills even beyond the violation of the three principles. For example, immediately after signing this agreement, Silajdzic made a speech in which he touted the fact that the agreement ensures representation by all ethnic groups at all local levels of the police, proportionate to the 1991 census - before the ethnic cleansing and changed the ethnic map of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Yet that provision is already in effect, so this does not present any progress. In fact, it is a poison pill, because the language of the provision in question, Section II.7, states that the most recent census is always to be used - not explicitly 1991 as before. In about three years, when a new census is carried out, the effects of the genocide on the ground will become official, and the police ranks will have to reflect that “reality”. Many police officers will surely lose their jobs at that time.

Silajdzic, in a speech to his party immediately subsequent to signing this agreement, blamed it on the international community. He framed it as not his own choice or fault, but as a dictate made to help the RS by some powerful international entity, that he commonly refers to as “the world” and leaves his audience always to guess at whether that means the US, the EU, or maybe High Representative Lajcak. However, the facts are that the EU has asked for the three principles, which are good for Bosnia and Herzegovina. In fact, that insistence by the EU is the only reason why Bosnia has police reform at all - because a common state level police force would be better suited to correct all the abuses by the entity police forces, which are controlled by ethnically clean entity parliaments.

So the EU is not pressuring him into an agreement that preserves the RS police. On the contrary, EU’s pressure is on the RS to give up power, if they want to be accepted in EU, not on BiH. Even Lajcak’s recent proposal was seen to be much better than this. It is appropriate also to mention the US House draft resolution proposed by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ) that calls for the dismantlement of the RS police which was declared by the ICJ to have perpetrated genocide in Bosnia. In fact, some commentators mentioned that it was likely that the timing of this deal by Dodik and Silajdzic is to head off this resolution.

The latest news: The leaders of other major parties in BiH, Tihic and Lagumdjija commented that they do not accept this deal because it is “even worse” than Lajcak’s proposal. The leader of a major Croat party in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ljubic, also said that he will reject the deal for the same reason.

So - back to square one, it seems.

Attack at US embassy in Vienna thwarted

Well, well, back in Vienna for a change, still Bosnia all around:

A Bosnian who tried to enter the U.S. Embassy in Vienna with a backpack filled with explosives, nails and Islamic literature was arrested today after the bag set off a metal detector and the man fled on foot, authorities said.

Police sealed off the neighborhood as a precaution and shut down or rerouted nearby bus and tram lines. Officers patrolled the area with bomb-sniffing dogs.

The suspect was described only as a 42-year-old native of Bosnia-Herzegovina who now lives in the province of Lower Austria, which encircles most of the capital. Police said they made the arrest a short distance from the embassy building in a neighborhood where security is tight.

Vienna police spokeswoman Michaela Raz said explosives experts were examining the contents of the backpack.

"There were a lot of nails in that bag. Had it exploded, it would have had an enormous shrapnel effect," said Doris Edelbacher, of Austria's federal counterterrorism office.

The explosives resembled hand grenades, she told reporters, but that munitions experts were still working to determine whether the device had been properly rigged to explode.

The suspect spoke broken German and appeared to ramble during an initial interrogation, Edelbacher said.

It was unclear how far he made it into the embassy. Public broadcaster ORF, citing unidentified officials, reported that a metal detector sounded an alarm as the man was passing through security checks and that he fled immediately.

The nature of the Islamic material he allegedly was carrying also was unclear.

Embassy officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last month, authorities arrested three people - all Austrian citizens of Arab origin in their 20s - in connection with a video posted online in March that had threatened Austria and Germany with attacks if they did not withdraw their military personnel from Afghanistan.

One of the suspects was released several days later for lack of evidence.

On Friday, the Interior Ministry said it found a list of politicians circulating online as potential targets for attacks. The individuals were notified, but authorities said there were no indications that any of them
were ever in danger.

Milan Jelic is dead

Late Sunday evening in Doboj the president of Republika Srpska, Milan Jelic, had died from a stroke.

He was born March 26th, 1956, in Koprivna near the city of Modrica. He was a member of Milorad Dodik's SNSD and always worked for reconciliation, or in his words to press forward with stabilization and put an end to the rhetoric of aggression, genocide, victims, winners and losers.

A voice of reason that will be missed.

The Bosnian Serb government declared a three-day mourning period and flags were at half staff today, the Bosnian Serb government, led by Prime Minister Milorad Dodik, declared the mourning period and canceled all cultural and sport events. The funeral is planned for Wednesday in Modrica.

It remains unclear who might succeed Jelic. Political analyst Tanja Topic said the Serb Republic's constitution does not make clear the chain of  succession.

Among possible successors is Dragan Cavic, a former Bosnian Serb president and member of the Serb Democratic Party, who came second to Jelic in last  year's elections. It is also possible that one of Jelic's non-Serb deputies, Bosnian Croat Davor Cordas or Muslim Bosniak Adil Osmanovic, could succeed
Jelic, Topic said.

Media were Monday also speculating about the chairman of the Bosnian Serb parliament, Igor Radojcic, nominated today as an interim president, as a possible successor.