“The Serb Mess Redux”
The Congress of North American Bosniaks, an umbrella organization representing American and Canadian Bosniaks, is appalled that William D. Montgomery, the former U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, called for a referendum for the independence of Republika Srpska, the smaller of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
In his Op-ed in the New York Times, on June 4, 2009, he said, “Bosnia is more complicated. There, a solution probably involves shaping a different relationship within Bosnia and permitting the Republika Srpska, the Serbian portion of the divided country, to hold a referendum on independence.”
This quote alone demonstrates Montgomery’s ignorance as to the issues between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Serbian would indicate it belongs to Serbia, which geographically, historically and politically is not accurate.
His call is shortsighted, dangerous and insulting to the victims of genocide and aggression in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It reminds all freedom loving Bosnians of the genocide committed against Bosniaks in the current territory of Republika Srpska and beyond. It also brings Serbs one step closer to realizing the genocidal call of Slobodan Milosevic for Greater Serbia, where all Serbs could live in one country, one nation, one land. Why should there be separate nation states in this region based on religion alone. The fact that the land of current day Republika Srpska was created, as a direct result of genocide and the ethnic cleansing of its non Serb population, makes Montgomery’s call for independence absolutely absurd.
On June 6, 2009 the world celebrated the 65th anniversary of the Allied invasion at Normandy, and their commitment to fight the notion of the “one nation, one land” for future generations. A recent initiative in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to have January 27th declared as Holocaust Remembrance Day and July 11th, as Srebrenica Remembrance Day failed to obtain support from Bosnian Serb delegates from Republika Srpska (RS). This rejection came only days after we celebrated May 9 Victory against fascism.
Mr. Montgomery’s timing is very peculiar. On April 7, 2009, Bosnia celebrated its 17th year anniversary of the United States’ recognition of Bosnia’s independence from former Yugoslavia. The support of the American public during the aggression against Bosnia resulted in the American intervention and bombing of Serbian forces’ position in Bosnia which stopped the aggression and genocide. This support continued in the post-aggression period through the commitment of the American administration.
Most recently there is a renewed commitment to BiH on the part of the United States administration, as evidenced by Vice president Biden’s visit to Bosnia where he called upon the Bosnian government to continue working towards EU and NATO integration. On May 28, 2009, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Rosemary DiCarlo, stated
“Bosnia-Herzegovina’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are enshrined in the Dayton Peace Accords.” The United States made a commitment to Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of the key sponsors of the Dayton Peace Accords.
Bosnia needs more centralized power, it needs to be admitted to EU, and NATO to be rewarded for support of democracy at home and abroad including support of the US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would have been more helpful were Mr. Montgomery to call upon the Serbian government to arrest its most wanted war criminals of the world, including former general of Serbian Army in Bosnia, Ratko Mladic, who has been hiding in Serbia for the past 14 years including the time during Mr. Montgomery’s tenure in Serbia. July 11, 2009, will commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre where at least 8,372 innocent Bosniak civilians were summarily executed and 30,000 were expelled from their homes in the worst atrocity in Europe since the holocaust. The entire Republika Srpska is a reminder of the Srebrenica massacre and the genocide perpetrated by Serbs against Bosniaks all for the purpose of creating one land for one nation according to Slobodan Milosevic’s dream.
Haris Alibasic
President of the Congress of North American Bosniaks (CNAB)